World Series Game Five: A Long Time Coming

The Houston Astros are coming off a historic evening--pitching the second World Series no-hitter in baseball history. The combined no-no evened the Series at 2-2, and more importantly, earned the Astros a trip back to Houston. But they couldn't dwell on either of those attributes, as they still had one final game in Philadelphia remaining. While Game Five took place in Philadelphia, Houston hosted a Thursday Night Football contest between the Houston Texans and the Philadelphia Eagles, and that game saw the Eagles emerge victorious and remain unbeaten.

The Astros didn't waste time getting things started, as Jeremy Pena's RBI single in the first inning made it 1-0. They wouldn't enjoy that lead for long, as Kyle Schwarber homered to tie the game, as well as end Houston's chance to duplicate Johnny Vander Meer's feat: pitch back-to-back no-hitters. It was 1-1 until the top of the fourth, when Pena struck again, this time with a solo shot to give Houston's lead back. Justin Verlander pitched five solid innings, but the rest would be up to the bullpen.

Yordan Alvarez's groundout in the 8th inning gave Houston what was believed to be an insurance run, but Jean Segura cut their deficit in half in the latter part of the inning. They wouldn't tie it in the eighth, but after shutting down the Astros in the ninth, the Phillies had one more chance. Brandon Marsh struck out to lead off the ninth, and as for J.T. Realmuto, he thought he had (at least) a double--until Chas McCormick snatched it away. Bryce Harper was hit by a pitch, leaving Nick Castellanos to serve as the potential winning run. Castellanos managed a full count, but ended up grounding out to end the game, sealing Houston's victory.

Out of all of the things that Justin Verlander has accomplished, one thing he had never done was win a World Series game. Until now. Verlander reached the Fall Classic six times in his career, but despite being part of the 2017 "championship," he had never won a World Series Game. Until now. Verlander got his first Fall Classic win in what could possibly be his final start with the Astros, who are now one win away from winning a championship that they actually earned. They have two chances to win one home game, meaning that the Astros are literally in the driver's seat with this victory.

As for the Phillies, their bats have become colder than the old Veterans Stadium in January. Two runs total in the last 22 innings. Those bats need to heat up now, because they now have their backs to the wall for the first time in this year's postseason. In all fairness, the Phillies weren't supposed to get this far. After all, they were in a National League that consisted of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Mets, and the Atlanta Braves, the three most favored teams in the senior circuit. Yet the Phils outlasted all of them and fought against the odds to get to the World Series, and they still stand two wins away from a championship, but they have to do it on the road--back-to-back.

Game Six is Saturday in Houston, and it could be the crowning moment for the Astros. It could be the moment where the Astros wash off a vast amount of that stench from 2017, where they make that year just a blip on the radar. Or it could be the moment where the Phillies begin their road to coming back and taking the whole thing. It was only six years prior that a team who was up 3-2 with a chance to clinch at home, actually failed to do so. Will it happen this year? We shall see.

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