The Houston Astros won their second World Series title as a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies helped them close out the seven-game series 4-2. The sixth game remained scoreless until Kyle Schwarber hit a game-winning home run in the sixth inning to put the Phillies ahead. But the Astros hit right back through Yordan Alvarez’s triple before Christian Vazquez drove in Alex Bregman to make it 4-1. With a roar from an ecstatic home crowd, the Astros closed out the win. The first half of Saturday’s game was a duel between Houston’s Framber Valdez and Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler, who had both started the second game. The left-handed Valdez dominated the Phillies, striking out nine batters, but the visitors drew first blood in the top of the sixth when Schwarber singled Valdez over right field. As the tension at Minute Maid Park grew, the Astros rallied to put two men on base before Phillies manager Rob Thomson pulled Wheeler in favor of one of his starting relievers, Jose Alvarado. But the lefty Alvarez launched one of the biggest — and most important — home runs of his burgeoning career, lifting Alvarado 450 feet over center field to turn the game around. Vazquez hit an insurance run — but he didn’t need to as the Astros’ bullpen, which was virtually immune to the 2022 postseason, stifled any hopes of a Phillies comeback. And the win was complete when Nick Castellanos flied out to right fielder Kyle Tucker in the ninth.
Astros redeemed, Dusty finally rewarded
Dusty Baker has now relinquished his previous record for most MLB wins by a manager without a World Series trophy Houston’s maiden Fall Classic title in 2017 was then marred by an electronic license plate theft scandal that saw them fined $5 million, miss the draft and see their manager and general manager fired. While only five players from that 2017 team remain on the roster, this was their fourth World Series appearance in six seasons to cap a sustained period of success. Having restored some pride to the franchise, Dusty Baker, one of baseball’s most popular figures, finally has a World Series title on his resume in his 25th season as a major league manager after more than 2,000 wins in charge of five different clubs. “When did it hit me? When Jordan hit that ball over the moon, out there,” Baker, 73, joked. Rookie Jeremy Pena was named the World Series Most Valuable Player after filling the void left when Houston lost Carlos Correa in free agency. Kyle Schwarber had given the Phillies hope with a Game 6 home run. Framber ValdezJose Altuve and Jeremy Pena drove in Yordan Alvarez in the bottom of the sixth inning on the game’s crucial playAstros closer Ryan Pressly is swarmed by his team-mates after recording the final three outs in the ninth inning
