Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto launched a 346-foot home run to right field in the 10th inning on Friday night to lift Philadelphia to a 6–5 victory and a 1–0 World Series lead over the Astros.
Houston led 5–0 behind two Kyle Tucker home runs in the first three innings. Staring down Houston ace Justin Verlander, the Phillies never relented. A three-run fourth inning, followed by a two-run fifth on a Realmuto double tied the game and chased Verlander off the mound.
From there, the game remained scoreless in the late innings until the Realmuto bomb broke the tie in the 10th. Houston made things interesting in the home half of the 10th after third baseman Alex Bregman hit a one-out double off Phillies closer David Robertson.
Robertson didn’t have his best stuff, but grinded to cement the Philadelphia victory. After striking out Tucker for the second out of the inning, Robertson walked Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel and then threw a wild pitch.
With the tying run on third and go-ahead run on second, Robertson forced a groundout to end it. The Astros let one get away at home, and lost home field advantage to the visiting Phillies in a thrilling opening game of the Fall Classic.
