The Houston Astros won Game 5 of the MLB World Series by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 at Citizens Bank Park thanks to an excellent performance by Jeremy Peña at bat and Justin Verlander on the mound.
With this result, hehe Astros could be crowned in Houston in Game 6. The engagement will take place at Minute Maid Park at 8:03 p.m. ET. In all postseason series that have come tied at two wins through four games, the winner of game five has won 45 of 64 times.
Here are the keys to Astros win in Game 5 of the MLB World Series.
Jeremy Pena
The rookie sensation aims to be the Astros’ MVP if they win the Commissioner’s Trophy. After a 3-pointer by José Altuve to open the game, Peña drove in Houston’s first with an RBI single over to center field. Then, at the top of the fourth episode, the Dominican became the first rookie shortstop to record a home run in the MLB World Series hitting a Noah Syndergaard curveball into deep left field.
Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander got his first career victory in the MLB World Series. Although he allowed a home run to Kyle Schwarber in the first inning, the veteran pitcher pulled himself together and held off the Phillies from scoring any more runs to record their first World Series victory. The 39-year-old pitcher pitched five complete innings, striking out six of the 23 batters he faced, walking four and allowing four hits.
Relays of Neris and Abreu
Hector Neris pitched the first two-thirds of the sixth inning after replacing Verlander and he did it in a good way. The Dominican allowed a single to Alec Boh, but forced the fly out of Bryson Stott and then struck out Jean Segura on four pitches. Dusty Baker elected to switch pitchers with one out remaining in the sixth, and Bryan Abreu hit Bradnon Marsch with a pitch before helping Schawrber fly out. The seventh was easy for Abreu because he struck out Rhys Hoskins and JT Realmuto before Bryce Harper flew out to third base.
Hoskins bug
During the top eighth, the Astros started a good hitting rally through a pair of singles from Altuve and Peña. In the next at-bat, Yordan Álvarez hit a light ground ball to the first mat in which Hoskins made a mistake when making the reception and could not make the double play; Phillies infielder he only eliminated the Cuban while the Venezuelan stepped on home plate without any problem to put the score 3-1.
pressley to the rescue
The Phillies cut the Astros’ lead after Rafael Montero gave away two walks and allowed Jean Segura to drive in his team’s second run with a single to right field. However, Dusty Baker sent Ryan Pressley to the mound to get the last five outs of the game. In the eighth he responded with a strikeout on Brandon Barsh and a flyout on Schwarber.
In the ninth, the closer struck out Hoskins for the 25th out. The penultimate player eliminated was Realmuto, thanks to excellent coverage from Chas McCormick in center field. Harper advanced to first on a hit by Pressly, but the game ended when Nick Castellanos hit a ground ball that did not allow him to step on the first mat.