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Realmuto clubbed a leadoff, opposite-field home run in the 10th
inning as the Phillies erased a five-run deficit and rallied
past the Houston Astros 6-5 in Game 1 of the World Series on
Friday.
Realmuto drilled a 97.5 mph fastball from Astros reliever Luis
Garcia (1-1) just beyond the leaping attempt of Astros right
fielder Kyle Tucker. The Phillies handed Houston its first loss
of the postseason and will take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven
series into Game 2 on Saturday.
Philadelphia became the first team to rally from five runs down
to win a World Series game since the Anaheim Angels accomplished
the feat against the San Francisco Giants in Game 6 of the 2002
Fall Classic. That Giants team was managed by Dusty Baker, now
the Astros' manager.
Tucker supplied Houston a 5-0 lead by homering in his first two
at-bats. His leadoff shot to right off Phillies starter Aaron
Nola keyed a two-run second inning. His three-run, 395-foot
blast off Nola to right-center in the third plated Jeremy Pena
and Alex Bregman and made Tucker the first player in club
history with a multi-homer game in the World Series.
However, the Phillies fashioned a rally against Astros starter
Justin Verlander in the fourth. Rhys Hoskins hit a one-out
single and advanced to third when Bryce Harper singled with two
outs.
Nick Castellanos' single to left plated Hoskins, and Alec Bohm
followed with a two-run double to left that narrowed the deficit
to 5-3. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Phillies had momentum.
"You know, I think once we scored the three, (we) were kind of
feeling it," Thomson said. "Like, 'OK, we got back in this
thing, now the momentum's changed.' And that's really why I went
to (reliever Jose) Alvarado in the fifth inning, which I haven't
done all year, because I thought that the momentum changed there
was so important to keep that momentum, get through those guys,
and we'll figure out the rest later."
Verlander needed 31 pitches to complete the fourth inning. Four
batters into the fifth, the Phillies pulled even at 5-5 when
Realmuto smoked a double to left-center field that scored
Brandon Marsh and Kyle Schwarber, who had doubled and walked,
respectively, to open the frame.
"They're a good offensive club," Baker said. "I mean, we knew we
could hit -- we know they could hit when we came in here, and
they're known for that. They just took it from us tonight."
Nola and Verlander both allowed five runs on six hits and two
walks while striking out five. Verlander lasted five innings,
while Nola was done after 4 1/3 innings.
Starting with replacing Nola with Alvarado, Thomson made an
impact. Every reliever he summoned from the bullpen delivered in
the matchup he was called upon to win, from left-hander Alvarado
to right-hander Zach Eflin to left-hander Ranger Suarez, who was
set to start Game 3 on Monday.
"From top to bottom, the bullpen did phenomenal for us,"
Realmuto said. "I thought when Rob brought ... Alvarado in that
early in the game in that big of a spot, I thought that was kind
of the key in the game."
Philadelphia right-hander Seranthony Dominguez (2-0) struck out
three of the six batters he faced. David Robertson earned his
first save of the postseason by working around a one-out double
from Bregman and a two-out walk issued to Yuli Gurriel in the
10th inning.
The Astros had the tying run at third and the winning run at
second in the 10th when pinch hitter Aledmys Diaz grounded to
third base for the final out.
It was a stunning loss for the top seed in the American League,
a shocking defeat with the Astros' ace on the mound holding a
five-run lead.
"Disappointing, yeah, for sure," said Verlander, who is 0-6 with
a 6.07 ERA in eight career World Series starts. "I need to do
better. No excuses. Like I said, just need to execute pitches
better. I felt like I had some guys in good situations and just
wasn't able to quite make the pitches that I wanted to."
--MoiseKapenda Bower, Field Level Media
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