(Houston) After two failures in three years, the Houston Astros were able to celebrate a World Series title again.
Updated yesterday at 11:45 p.m.
Yordan Alvarez homered in the sixth inning and the Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 on Saturday night in Game 6 of the World Series.
With Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena on the trails, Alvarez catapulted a throw from reliever Jose Alvarado wide to center field to give the Astros a 3-1 lead.
The Texas team won the World Series for the first time since 2017. They lost in seven games against the Washington Nationals in 2019 and in six games against the Atlanta Braves in 2021.
The Astros became the first Major League team to win the World Series on home soil since the Boston Red Sox in 2013.
The game in pictures
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Aged 73, Dusty Baker also won his first World Series as manager, after two unsuccessful attempts. He had, however, had a championship ring in 1981, when he wore the colors of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
World Series Most Valuable Player
Pena, who was named the All-American Championship Series Most Valuable Player, was named the World Series Most Valuable Player in his rookie season in major league baseball.
Christian Vazquez gave the Astros a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning when he hit a single that sent Alex Bregman home.
The rest of the game was the business of the Astros’ succession. Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly allowed the Phillies just one hit in three innings at the mound.
The Phillies had opened the scoring in the top of the sixth inning, through a resounding long ball from Kyle Schwarber, at the expense of starter Framber Valdez.
Valdez was once again very effective on the mound, allowing just two hits and two walks in six innings of work. He got out of the stalemate in the second run, when there were two riders on the trails.
The Astros left-hander struck out nine opponents and posted a third playoff win against no losses. Pressly got a sixth save.
Phillies starter Zack Wheeler gave up two runs, three hits and a walk in five and a third innings to the mound. He ended a threat in the third inning, as Chas McCormick went to second base.
Wheeler, however, faced trouble in the sixth inning. Martin Maldonado was hit, but he was put out at second base on an Altuve option. Pena hit a single to put runners on the ends of the diamond. Alvarez then got a shot his way and he had the ball travel 450 feet from home plate.