Astros build big lead, hang on to even Series
HOUSTON — Framber Valdez made a five-run lead stand up after Houston’s lightning first-inning burst, Alex Bregman homered, and the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2, in Game 2 Saturday night to tie the World Series at one game apiece.
Just like in Game 1, the Astros rushed to a 5-0 lead. Unlike ace Justin Verlander in the opener, Valdez and Houston held on.
Valdez rebounded from a pair of poor outings in last year’s Series to pitch shutout ball into the seventh, and the bullpen survived a couple of jams to close things out.
“Framber did a great job,” said Jose Altuve, who broke out of a 4-for-37 postseason slump with three hits. “Just amazing performance by him and our bullpen, as well.”
Altuve, Jeremy Peña, and Yordan Alvarez doubled as Houston took a two-run lead four pitches in against Zack Wheeler. An error allowed another run in the first and Bregman added a two-run homer in the fifth.
A day after coming back for a 6-5 win in 10 innings. Philadelphia attempted another rally.
With the Phillies trailing by four, Kyle Schwarber hit a drive deep down the right-field line with a man on in the eighth against Rafael Montero that was originally ruled a homer by right field umpire James Hoye.
First base umpire Tripp Gibson signaled for umps to conference and the call was reversed on a crew chief review when it was determined the ball was just to the foul side of the pole.
Schwarber, who led the NL in home runs this season, then hit a long drive that was caught at the right field wall.
Ryan Pressly finished the combined six-hitter, giving up a run on an error by first baseman Yuli Gurriel.
The Series resumes Monday night when Citizens Bank Park hosts the Series for the first time since 2009. Of 61 previous Series tied 1-1, the Game 2 winner went on to the title 31 times — but just four of the last 14.
After struggling to a 19.29 ERA in a pair of Series starts in last year’s six-game loss to Atlanta, Valdez struck out nine and walked three, allowing four hits in 6‚ innings.
The lefthander blew by batters with a fastball averaging 95.6 miles per hour and baffled them with his curve, which got three of his strikeouts — all looking. Unusually, he changed his glove and spikes mid-outing.
When the Phillies put two runners on for the only time against him in the sixth, Valdez struck out Game 1 star J.T. Realmuto with high heat, then got Bryce Harper to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
Nick Castellanos led off the seventh with a double and Valdez left after a groundout advanced the runner. Montero allowed Jean Segura’s sacrifice fly to the left-field warning track.
A day after the deflating defeat, the Astros came out swinging and became the first team to open a Series game with three straight extra-base hits.
Altuve lined a sinker into leftcenter and Peña drove a curveball into the left-field corner for a 1-0 lead.
“I feel good,” Altuve said. “I feel really good. Timing, confidence, everything was there tonight. Hopefully I keep going.”
Alvarez fouled off a pitch and drove a slider high off the 19foot wall in left. Wheeler should have escaped down just 2-0, but shortstop Edmundo Sosa bounced his throw to first on Gurriel’s three-hopper for an error, the ball glancing off the mitt of first baseman Rhys Hoskins.
Bregman, who hit a two-run homer to left in the fifth when Wheeler left a slider over the middle of the plate, has six career Series homers and three this postseason with nine RBIs.