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 Saturday night to tie the World Series at one game apiece.
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.
Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez all 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.
Triple double. <a href=”https://t.co/PPzvZmMsUA”>pic.twitter.com/PPzvZmMsUA</a>
—@astros
A day after coming back for a 6-5 win in 10 innings. Philadelphia tried to rally in this one, too.
With the Phillies trailing by four runs, 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 two-run homer by right field line umpire James Hoye.
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.
Series shifts to Philadelphia
Following the split in Houston, 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.
He blew by batters with a fastball averaging 95.6 mph 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 a first-pitch sinker into an inning-ending double play.