by HOUSTON (AP) — JT Realmuto scored in the 10th inning and the Philadelphia Phillies, saved by right fielder Nick Castellanos’ sliding catch, rallied 6-5 past the Houston Astros in Friday night’s World Series opener.
After an early 5-0 deficit to Astros ace Justin Verlander, the Phillies became the first team in 20 years to come from a five-run deficit and win a World Series game.
You can thank Castellanos for giving him the chance. Known a lot more for his bat than his glove, he charged in to terrifically grab Jeremy Peña’s blooper with two outs in the ninth inning and a runner in second.
Realmuto, who tied for a straight double in front of Verlander in fifth place, completed the comeback when he led from tenth place by sending a Luis García fastball to the right field pitches.
Kyle Tucker scored twice for the Astros, who had been 7-0 this postseason.
Houston had a chance on the 10th when Alex Bregman doubled on an out. After Yuli Gurriel pulled a two-out walk, David Robertson rebounded with a wild pitch that put the runners in second and third place.
Pinch-hitter Aledmys Díaz was then hit by a 2-0 pitch from David Robertson – but Plate umpire James Hoye ruled Díaz leaned into the field and didn’t allow him to load bases first.
Díaz landed a 3-1 pitch to end it.
The last team to lose a 5-0 lead in the World Series was the 2002 San Francisco Giants, who lost their chance in Game 6 to defeat the Angels and win the title under coach Dusty Baker.
Baker saw it again this time as the Astros’ manager, with the same 6-5 final score.
The 106-win Astros hadn’t lost to anyone since Philadelphia defeated them on Oct. 3 to earn a wildcard spot as the third-place team.
Houston built a big lead thanks in large part to Tucker’s two home runs. But the Phillies stormed back as Verlander fought again in the World Series.
Perfect as he took a 5-0 lead into fourth, eliminated after fifth with the score of 5 to all. That left him 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight career World Series starts — barely the line for a pitcher expected to pick up his third Cy Young Award soon.
The Astros fell to 0-5 in the World Series opener and dropped their first game this postseason after winning the AL Division Series and AL Championship Series.
Seranthony Domínguez delivered a scoreless ninth to earn the win as Castellanos pulled off another outstanding ninth-inning catch this postseason that definitely saved the game.
With Jose Altuve at second base after his two-out single and stolen base, Peña hit a ball that came off the bat at 68 mph and only flew about 200 feet. Castellanos ran wide, then lunged for the inning-ending catch while sliding to the ground.
In the NL Division Series opener against Atlanta, Castellanos drove in three runs and helped maintain the lead with a similar catch in the ninth of the 7-6 win.
In the World Series for the fourth time in six years — and after losing in six games to Atlanta last year — these Astros are looking to give Baker his first managerial title and win their second championship after winning in 2017, a title that tainted by a sign-theft scandal.
The surprising Phillies, who have two championships, are in the World Series for the first time since 2009. They bounced back from a 21-29 start that resulted in manager Joe Girardi making the playoffs with a 66-46 finish.
They won their eighth pennant by defeating the San Diego Padres in five games in the NLCS under coach Rob Thomson.
NEXT
Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler takes on Framber Valdez when the series resumes on Saturday night.
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