(Houston) The Houston Astros once again got off to a good start, but this time they held on.
Updated yesterday at 11:42 p.m.
The Astros scored three in the first inning to cruise to a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night in Game 2 of the World Series.
The Texas squad roughed up starter Zack Wheeler, hitting three doubles on just four pitches in the opening inning. They became the first team in history to start a World Series game with three multi-base hits.
Unlike Friday night, the Astros were able to close the books to tie the series 1-1. In particular thanks to the brilliance of the starting Framber Valdez.
Valdez succeeded where Justin Verlander failed, as he allowed five runs after the Astros took a 5-0 lead after three innings. The Phillies had escaped with a 6-5 win in 10 innings.
Valdez allowed one run, four hits and three walks in six and a third innings on the mound. He hasn’t been defeated in three starts since the start of the playoffs. Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly combined their efforts to confirm the victory of theirs.
Wheeler had done a great job for the Philadelphia team since the start of the playoffs, but he couldn’t overcome a tough first run. The 32-year-old right-hander allowed four runs, six hits and three walks in five innings of work.
The World Series will now move to Philadelphia for the first time since 2009. Game 3 is Monday night at Citizens Bank Park.
The good news for Wheeler is that he threw catches early in the game. The bad news is that the Astros hitters weren’t intimidated.
On Wheeler’s first shot of the game, Jose Altuve hit a double to the left. The Phillies pitcher didn’t get more hits on his second shot, as Jeremy Pena slammed a one-run double. Yordan Alvarez extended the Astros’ lead to 2-0 with another double on Wheeler’s fourth shot.
The Phillies also shot themselves in the foot in the first inning. Yuli Gurriel should have been grounded out to end the inning, but shortstop Edmundo Sosa made a bad throw to first base to allow Alvarez to cross the plate.
Altuve got another hit when he singled to open the fifth inning. He was retired on an Alvarez option, but Alex Bregman followed with a two-run long ball that made it 5-0.
The Phillies showed signs of life in the seventh inning. Nick Castellanos slammed a leadoff double and after advancing 90 feet on a ground ball, he crossed home plate thanks to a sacrifice from Jean Segura.
In the eighth inning, with Bryson Stott on the trails, Kyle Schwarber thought he had homered, but the ball went just to the right of the tie post. Schwarber was then pulled out on a very long flyout at the warning lane. With two runners on base and two out, Montero ended the threat by striking out the dangerous Bryce Harper on a fly.
The Phillies added a run in the ninth inning, but the damage was already done.