Final thoughts Well, that was a game of crackerjack baseball. That’s not an adjective I’ve ever used to describe something before, but it feels fitting for what has been a one-series game for much of its run. The Phillies kept coming right to the edge of the lead, but the breaks continued to benefit the Astros. It’s a rough outcome for a Phillies team that looked to have the lead in the series after their Game 3 triumph. However, a no-hitter in Game 4 and then missing so many opportunities in Game 5 might just be enough for leave them lost and look for answers. What exactly does it take to beat this formidable Houston team four times in seven chances? Is it even possible? The Phillies now need to win two straight games at Houston’s Minute Maid Park. It’s a very tough ask for any team, but maybe this Philadelphia team has the right mindset to tune out how deflating these last two games have been. We’ll see, game 6 will be on Saturday night. We’ll be covering that, and a potential Game 7, here at the Guardian, so please stay tuned. That will be the end of today’s live coverage, however. Thanks to everyone who followed, ciao! Updated at 04:18 GMT 04.05 GMT
The Astros won! Astros 3-2 Phillies, FINAL
Astros 3-2 Phillies, FINAL Castellanos makes a huge cut on Pressly’s first pitch and gets absolutely nothing. 0-1. He wanted this to end right there. He puts the next pitch on a foul, but it’s a little off the Astros’ fielders. He remains alive but is on his last hit. 0-2. Castellanos throws a pitch out. 1-2. “Seven Nation Army” is back on the organ and I’m not going to miss it when we get back to Minute Maid Park. Castellanos retires from the next pitch. 2-2. The next pitch is out. 3-2. Harper, the tying run, will be out of touch. However, a strike here would render it meaningless. He hits a veteran in close range and it’s a long shot but it catches him quite a bit. The Astros won Game 5 of the 2022 World Series. Updated at 04.05 GMT 03:56 GMT Astros 3-2 Phillies, bottom of the 9th inning Pressly is back. He did a great job in the bottom of the inning, though Marsh deserves at least an assist to help make sure the Phillies didn’t score there. Pressly now faces Rhys Hoskins, who rejects his first offer of a knock. 0-1. He fouls out on the next pitch. 0-2. He fouls out on the next pitch. Still 0-2. Hoskins fouls out on the next one, staying alive. Still 0-2. One has to imagine that here we see a ball outside the zone. And we do. Of course, this was something Hoskins expected too. Fires. 1-2. However, he cannot strike out on the next pitch. Swinging out and the Astros are two outs away from the win. Updated at 03:56 GMT 03:50 GMT Astros 3-2 Phillies, top 9 game Altuve goes up for what seems like the 187th time today. Gets a ball out. 1-0. He strikes by looking. 1-1. He takes a ball in the corner. 2-1. He hasn’t swung at that bat yet! Three full pitches have passed! Maybe he should have stuck with that plan, he runs into a double play that sends us to the bottom of the ninth inning. Can the Phillies mount a comeback or will the Astros take a 3-2 World Series lead? We’re about to find out! Updated at 03:50 GMT 03:38 GMT Astros 3-2 Phillies, bottom of the 8th inning Pressly is not out of danger yet. Not with Schwarber representing the winning streak. He fouls off the first pitch he sees. 0-1. He takes a pitch low. 1-1. It’s moving and missing! This is big. 1-2. Pressly can escape that mark if he can get one more hit. And he does! It flies right to Mancini, who has replaced Gurriel at first base. One game left going into the ninth! Updated at 03:38 GMT 03:35 GMT Astros 3-2 Phillies, bottom of the 8th inning Ryan Pressly, the Astros closer, is next. He’ll be facing Brandon Marsh whose number one goal here is to drive in Stott and his second goal should be: just not getting into a double play with Castellanos at first base. His first pitch? Marsh commits a foul. 0-1. “Seven Nation Army” on the organ once again. Marsh fouls out on the next pitch. 0-2. That’s a bad way to start what might be the key to the whole series, Brandon. Ugh, takes the same long swing at the next pitch and misses. He grounds out for number two and now the Phillies can’t tie the game at one out. Updated at 03:35 GMT 03.31 GMT
Run by scoring only! (Friends) Astros 3-2 Friends
Astros 3-2 Phillies, bottom of the 8th inning One out, two up. Two row deficit. Fans singing ‘Seven Nation Army’. It’s a tense situation, especially if you’re not a fan of that particular chant. Segura seems to be responding just fine, hitting a single to right field that scores Castellanos! It’s 3-2. Stott represents the tying run at third base! Dusty Baker goes to his pen! Updated at 03:31 GMT 03.18 GMT Astros 3-1 Phillies, top 8 game Peña is in third place after the long flight. Trey Mancini at the plate, where he works a full count and while doing so, Bregman steals second. So both runners are in scoring position, but it doesn’t matter as Mancini swings and misses to end the inning. Still, the Astros have tacked and time is running out for the Phillies to respond. Updated at 03.18 GMT 03.01 GMT Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 8 game Dominguez is out again to start the eighth inning, trying to preserve a one-run deficit. Note: both teams have tomorrow off for travel and the season will last two more games at most. We are in “all hands on deck” territory. Dominguez falls behind 0-3 to Altuve, who eventually walks a 3-2 pitch. Updated at 03.01 GMT 02.56 GMT Astros 2-1 Phillies, bottom of the 7th inning Harper is here to try and save the seventh for Philadelphia. Fouls out on Abreu’s first fastball. 0-1. At 0-1 he fouls another. That’s 100mph, so the fact that other human beings can even connect on pitches like this will forever baffle me. The next pitch? Regulator out. 1-2. Harper successfully controls his swing (or at least the umpires rule that he does) on the next ball. 2-2. Harper then pops up to end the inning. That was a 1-2-3 for Abreu and the Phillies have just six outs to go. Updated at 02:56 GMT 02.52 GMT Astros 2-1 Phillies, bottom of the 7th inning Abreu returns to at least start pitching in the bottom of the seventh. He will face Hoskins, who is 1-2. This was a strikeout heavy game overall and both bullpens were amazing. Hoskins then fouls off a few pitches to stay alive. Also a lot of foul balls in this game. That’s what happens when you have pitchers who throw strikes and patient, crafty hitters. Except Hoskins looks right as I write this. Updated at 02:52 GMT 02:45 GMT Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 7th inning Dominquez is one out away from getting out of this inning without allowing a run to score, which would be impressive. He is ahead of Maldonado with 0-2. This is a start. The next pitch is a ball and Maldonado can only foul out on the next pitch. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, he is shorted and somehow this is still a 2-1 game. Updated at 02:45 GMT 02:42 GMT Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 7th inning However, there is a runner on third with less than two outs. This will be tough for the Phillies. Or maybe not. McCormick hits into a fielder’s choice and the Phillies are able to pop Garriel in the middle of a situation. McCormick takes second on the play, but it’s now two outs in the inning. Updated at 02:42 GMT 02:38 GMT Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 7th inning If the Phillies don’t mount a comeback, this Schwarber at-bat could loom large. As it stands, Seranthony Dominguez will pitch for Philadelphia and Gurriel is slated to run things for the Astros. Dominguez leads Gurriel 1-2, but Gurriel hits a flyball that just lands in the outfield for a leadoff double. Updated at 02:38 GMT 02.28 GMT Astros 2-1 Phillies, bottom of the 6th inning Segura is up. One up, one out. Fouls out on Nerys’ first pitch. 0-1. Neris’ next pitch is wide out. 1-1. Segura is fouled out of bounds in the dirt. It probably should have stopped at that cradle. 1-2. On the next pitch, Neris gets him to strike out for the second out of the inning. And that’ll do it for Nerys, here’s Houston manager Dusty Baker to relieve the reliever. Updated at 02.28 GMT 02.21 GMT I want to thank this Chevy ad featuring Fleetwood Mac’s song “Everywhere” for getting me up every few hours. If you were wondering why that last inning took so long, apparently there was a fan who ran onto the field and I missed it because they were never shown during the telecast. I didn’t even notice because, let’s be real, sometimes baseball games are just slow for no reason. Updated at 02.21 GMT 02.15 GMT Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 6 game Bregman gets the bad news from the first base umpire on a failed check swing for a strike. He then gets ball two right. 1-1. The next pitch almost hits Bregman and Altuve takes second. No wait, the replay shows he hit him completely, so he’ll get on base while Altuve stays on second. Updated at 02.15 GMT 02.07 GMT Astros 2-1 Phillies, top 6 game Jose Alvarado is our new Phillies pitcher and he faces another JA in Jose Altuve. Altuve, as usual, swings at the first pitch he sees. And the second. In both cases it does not connect. He’s at an 0-2 count, which honestly suits him just fine. Altuve takes the first ball of the at-bat. 1-2. He fouls out on the next two pitches. Still 1-2. The next step is low. 2-2. Altuve hits a pitch to second and just beats him for an infield single! Updated at 02.07 GMT
