Final thoughts
Okay, that ends the on-field pageantry and that ends today’s coverage of what ended up being the final game of the 2022 World Series. While you should continue reading the Guardian in the upcoming days for further coverage of the Houston Astros’ pathway toward the second championship in team history, this marks the end of our Game 6 liveblog. Thanks to everybody who followed along with us throughout the World Series, especially those who contributed. It’s always appreciated. Ciao!
What’s next for Dusty Baker?
“Party!” he responds
That sums it up for Houston. The only thing left is for Jeremy Peña to get awarded the MVP of the 2022 World Series.
As always, the first two people to speak in the World Series presentation are the owner and the GM and I’m sorry but nobody cares about them.
It’s not until Baker is introduced that fans really respond which, again, is extremely understandable.
When the Houston Astros hired Dusty Baker as manager, it was after the whole sign-stealing scandal emerged. They picked him because they knew that baseball people liked him and, even if they could not root for the Astros themselves, they couldn’t help but feel happy for Baker.
It was one of the most cynical moves I’ve seen any sports team make, but it definitely has worked out as they hoped.
Alright, as is tradition here at the Guardian, we will stay here for a bit and cover the presentation of the World Series trophy and the MVP announcement before wrapping up our live coverage.
Per @EliasSports, a city has never lost two major professional sports championships in one day.
— kev (@kevtaddei) November 6, 2022
Philadelphia is on the verge of doing just that (MLS, MLB).
It turns out that losing in the MLS Cup Final right before Game 6’s first pitch was not, in fact, a good sign for Philadelphia.
Well, the Eagles remain undefeated, at least?
The Phillies had all the momentum after the first three games, even giving themselves a chance to win in Philadelphia.
However, the Astros pitching turned things around in their Game 4 combined no-hitter and the Phillies struggled to score over the next few games.
Still, it was an impressive run from the sixth-seeded Phillies who were never supposed to even be in this position, unlike the Astros who had established themselves as the most dominant team in the American League all season long.
The Houston Astros have beaten the Philadelphia Phillies in six games to become the winners of the 2022 World Series! Manager Dusty Baker has won his first ring!
Astros win! Phillies 1-4 Astros
Phillies 1-4 Astros, FINAL
Castellanos flies out to Tucker in foul ground and the Astros are your 2022 World Series champions!
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Top 9th inning
Bryce Harper is up and the best he can do is make it a one-run game.
Instead, he flies out to left field. The Astros are one out away from winning their second World Series!
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Top 9th inning
J.T. Realmuto is out now. He hits a base hit to center field on the first pitch he sees. The start of a potential rally?
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Top 9th inning
Ryan Pressly is out to close a potential deciding World Series game. One has to imagine that he is stressed out! He faces Hoskins, who swings and misses at the first pitch he sees. The next is a ball. 1-1. Hoskins fouls it off. 1-2. He then pops it up to Tucker. The Phillies are down to their final two outs.
Major League Baseball and it’s disdain for one of sports’ oldest and most enjoyable concepts: the hot hand. MLB would take the ball out of Michael Jordan’s hand on a games final play because the defense has seen him for four quarters. Man, it’s so tiring. @HunterFelt
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) November 6, 2022
I am perfectly okay with the idea of pulling your starter too soon rather than doing it too late but… there were no indications that Wheeler was tiring one bit. It was just a baffling decision.
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Bottom 8th inning
So that’s down in the bottom of the eighth. Kyle Tucker is up with bases empty. Robertson gets ahead of him 1-2. Tucker flies out to center field and we’re heading into the ninth inning. The Astros are three defensive outs away from their second World Series. (And their first one that won’t come with mountains of controversy.)
Oh wow, the umpires actually review the call at second base and call Bregman out. They overturned an actual wrong call! It feels weird that this is surprising, but such is MLB in 2022.
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Bottom 8th inning
Robertson gets ahead of Bregman 0-2 before throwing two straight balls, presumably attempting to start a fishing exhibition. No dice. The third ball isn’t close enough for him to swing either. 3-2. Bregman fouls off the pitch. 3-2, still. With the next pitch, Bregman hits a single that he extends to a double with a nifty slide.
Oh actually he’s clearly out on replay. But nobody cares at this point in the game.
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Bottom 8th inning
Old friend Dave Robertson gets Álvarez to strike out on four pitches.
That bunt was so bad that FOX is running the “Dusty Baker finally wins a World Series” footage now rather than waiting. This feels unjinxable with the Phillies down to three outs and looking clearly defeated.
Did I just see the most astonishing bunt attempt in MLB history?
— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) November 6, 2022
He lead the NL in home runs, didn’t he?
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Top 8th inning
Schwarber comes into an inning where he’s not the leadoff man. Didn’t think that was legal. He takes an Abreu strike and then a ball in the dirt. 1-1. He fouls the next pitch off. 1-2. He shows bunt with two strikes, fouls it back and that will be a strikeout to end the inning.
Also: why was he bunting in that situation? That made no sense! It feels like the Phillies know they’re done.
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Top 8th inning
The very hairy Brandon Marsh, who had the worst at-bat of the entire World Series on Thursday, is now up as a pinch-hitter. He takes a strike and then two straight balls. 2-1. He hits a long flyball that Tucker corrals in the outfield. The Phillies now have four outs remaining in their season.
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Top 8th inning
Bryan Abreu is facing a pinch-hitting Bryson Stott. The Phillies need to score at least three runs in exactly six outs.
Now they have five outs left. Stott hits a hot shot to third for the first out of the eighth.
All I’m asking for is to hear the “Everywhere” commercial just one more time before this World Series ends. That’s not a lot is it?
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Bottom 7th inning
Is Peña the World Series MVP at this point? There’s not an obvious candidate this time around—assuming that the Astros hold on to finish off the Phillies—so he seems like a good candidate. The broadcast mentions that he’s hitting over .400 in the series.
This time around he strikes out on three pitches, something which probably doesn’t help his case.
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Bottom 7th inning
Altuve is up again. He gets ahead 2-1, he’s been uncharacteristically patient today. He fouls off the next pitch. 2-2. He golfs this ball to left field for a two-out double.
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Bottom 7th inning
Every time Maldonado is up the announcers point out that he’s one of the worst offensive players but an extremely valuable player because of what he gives you at catcher. Honestly, at this point, if I’m Maldonado I am just downright taking it personally.
On 1-2, he hits a ball with a lot of authority, but it ends up just being a long fly. Two down in the seventh.
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Bottom 7th inning
Zach Eflin, whom I will attempt not to call “Zack Elfin” like I feel like I have in the past, is up pitching for the Phillies hoping to at least keep them within striking distance. One more run and this one’s completely dead as opposed to mostly dead.
Eflin is pitching to McCormick, who takes a ball and then fouls off the next pitch. 1-1. He fouls off another. 1-2. He holds off on a ball. 2-2. He fouls off the next pitch. Still 2-2. Then he gets McCormick to chase for the first out of the inning.
An additional email from Sir Richard:
Yes, pulling Wheeler made little sense, but it isn’t even close to having the spectacular effect Kevin Gausman being pulled in the second AL Wild Card game had. Not. Even. Close.
Richard Woods, frustrated Blue Jays fan
You know that was so long ago at this point that I will have to take your word for it.
Seventh inning stretch
This Cool James fella, I’ve heard that Ladies Love him.
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Top 7th inning
Jean Segura is up next with two out and the bases empty. Segura also falls behind 0-2. Neris is locked in, it seems. Segura can’t check his swing on a splitter in the dirt and that’s a 1-2-3 inning.
That’s not what Philadelphia needed at all. The exact opposite, in fact!
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Top 7th inning
Make that eight innings for the Phillies to play around with. Bohm is up next. He falls behind 0-2. He would fall behind 0-3, but there’s no such count in baseball so he merely strikes out for the second out of the inning.
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Top 7th inning
Hector Neris is out to pitch for Houston. Castellanos is up for Philadelphia. He takes a ball, a strike and then fouls off a pitch before popping up.
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Bottom 6th inning
I’m not going to say it’s over because I want everyone to keep reading, but it certainly feels out of reach. Dominguez gets Mancini to ground out to the end the inning but the damage has definitely been done. The Astros score four in the bottom of the sixth to take a three-run lead. The Phillies have nine more outs to extend their season and, you know, the whole baseball season.
RBI single (Astros) Phillies 1-4 Astros
Phillies 1-4 Astros, Bottom 6th inning
Seranthony Dominguez is out there now to face Christian Vázquez. He hits a single and Bregman scores!
Zack Wheeler was pulled from the game after 5 1/3 innings. He had given up only 3 hits and thrown 70 pitches. First batter that relief pitcher Jose Alvarado faced… 3-run homer.
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) November 6, 2022
It makes less sense the more you look at it. Sort of like a Kyrie Irving press statement.
Email from Pam Walker:
Alvarez is hot again!!! Let’s go Astros!!
He may have just crushed Phillies’ hopes. In the meantime, Philadelphia goes to the pen once more.
Phillies 1-3 Astros, Bottom 6th inning
Kyle Tucker works a full-count with Bregman now on second base. Alvarado finally gets him to strike-out on the eighth pitch of the at-bat.
Phillies 1-3 Astros, Bottom 6th inning
Alvarado’s first pitch is wild, Bregman takes second base.
Now I’m really mad I didn’t tweet pulling Wheeler was a mistake, @HunterFelt #lazy
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) November 6, 2022
Behind the scenes peak: I was so confused when they cut to a commercial! I had to double-check and figure out what happened before I realized that the Phillies had pulled Wheeler.
Phillies 1-3 Astros, Bottom 6th inning
Alvarado is now facing Alex Bregman and he throws three straight balls to him. It really does seem like these Astros hitters are so relieved that Wheeler is out of this game. Bregman eventually walks on six pitches.
not thrilled about this decision
— JokerSince22 (@FanSince09) November 6, 2022
Phillies fans weren’t happy about that pitching change beforehand and I can’t imagine they are thrilled now.
Home run1 (Astros) Phillies 1-3 Astros
Phillies 1-3 Astros, Bottom 6th inning
Jose Alvarado will be the one pitching to Álvarez, whose swing has decided games in this postseason. It seems like a panic move to pull the starter here, considering that Wheeler hadn’t lost anything but, again, it’s “all hands on deck” for Philadelphia.
Alvarado’s first pitch is fouled off. 0-1. His next pitch isn’t anywhere close. 1-1. The next pitch is too high. 2-1. The next pitch, Álvarez crushes it for a three-run home run! The Astros have a lead just like that!
Phillies 1-0 Astros, Bottom 6th inning
The key here is that the Astros only have one out and Altuve on third base. They can tie this game up without the benefit of a hit. Álvarez is up and the Phillies immediately go to their pen.
Phillies 1-0 Astros, Bottom 6th inning
It feels like if anybody is going to be the one to get the Astros on the board in this game, it’s going to be Peña here. Wheeler’s first pitch is outside. 1-0. With the next pitch, Peña hits a solid single that brings Altuve to third.
Phillies 1-0 Astros, Bottom 6th inning
Altuve is up with a runner on first. He takes the first two pitches he sees here for balls. 2-0. He then grounds out into a fielder’s choice. Maldonado is erased but Altuve is safe at first.
Phillies 1-0 Astros, Bottom 6th inning
Maldonado is up for Houston at the bottom of the sixth. Wheeler plunks him with the third pitch of the at-bat. That’s not the ideal thing to do immediately after being handed a one-run lead.
The Phillies challenge, it looks like Maldonado made no effort to get out of the way, but the call is confirmed. The Astros have their leadoff runner.
Phillies 1-0 Astros, Top 6th inning
Harper is up next. He takes the first two pitches in his at-bat, a ball and a strike. On 1-1, he hits a long foul home run. There’s not much drama given how clearly foul it was, but maybe these long flyballs are a sign that Valdez is starting to tire.
He still manages to get Harper out with a swing-and-miss here. The Astros escape without any further damage but they’re in a hole for the first time in ages.
Phillies 1-0 Astros, Top 6th inning
Realmuto grounds out on two straight pitches. Not the two best at-bats following that home run by Schwarber.
Phillies 1-0 Astros, Top 6th inning
Hoskins grounds out on a 2-0 pitch. Credit to Valdez for not letting the home run rattle him. That’s just something that Schwarber is going to do every now and again.
Home run! (Phillies) Phillies 1-0 Astros
Phillies 1-0 Astros, Top 6th inning
Is Kyle Schwarber just leading off every inning for the Phillies? It feels that way. He takes strike one from Valdez, who’s at 80 pitches. Schwarber takes Pitch 81 for a ball and Pitch 82 for a strike. 1-2 count. Valdez throws one in the dirt, Schwarber does not offer. 2-2.
Schwarber hits one long for a solo home run that finally breaks the scoreless tie!
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 5th inning
McCormick takes a strike. 0-1. McCormick fouls off a pitch. 0-2. McCormick takes strike three. Good morning, good afternoon and good night.
Wheeler’s only at 62 pitches and is looking quite locked-in.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 5th inning
Trey Mancini is back out. He fouls off the first pitch he sees and then looks at a sinker that’s, honestly, closer to his eyeballs than his feet. He’s in a 1-2 count after taking a curveball right in the heart of the plate and then fouls the next pitch he sees off. 1-2. He takes a curve that’s definitely close to his feet. 2-2. He swings and misses at the next pitch, becoming Wheeler’s fourth strikeout victim.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 5th inning
Wheeler only has three strikeouts so far to Valdez’s eight, but he’s been just as great in limiting scoring opportunities. Here he gets Christian Vázquez to ground out to the second baseman.
And we’re halfway through regulation, although at this point it feels like we’re going to be scoreless for a very long time.
This might come down to the bullpens considering how well both starters are pitching. If so, the ‘Stros have the advantage there.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 5th inning
Sosa, who probably thought he was going to have a bit more time to adjust this inning, is already up after the two quick outs ahead of him. He takes two straight strikes to start his at-bat. 0-2. Sosa swings at the next pitch, fouling it off. 0-2. On the next pitch, Valdez finally throws a ball here, an upstairs curveball. 1-2. Sosa fouls off the next pitch. Still, 1-2. Sosa then swings and misses and that’s another strikeout for Valdez.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 5th inning
Matt Vierling gets ahead of the count 3-1 before he too grounds out to second.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 5th inning
Segura is up, but only shortly, as he grounds out to second to start off the fifth.
Email from John Sterk:
Hunter America phraseology is best in the American game. “97 mph heater that he can’t hit “. Keep going with your bad self. John here from a camper before I get froze out in a week or so in the mountains of Virginia. Who’s on first anyway?
With Houston out on defense and Philadelphia out on offense to start the fifth inning, that would make it Trey Mancini at first. Related:
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 4th inning
Tucker grounds out to second immediately. We’re still nil-nil after four innings.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 4th inning
Bregman swings and misses at the first pitch he sees. And he does the same with the second pitch he sees. He fouls off the next pitch, a non-sinking sinker that Bregman could have done something with. Instead, Bregman just strikes out on the next pitch. Tucker is up to see if he can break this scoreless tie.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 4th inning
Álvarez is up with a runner on first base. He’s only been hitting .184 this offseason, which seems surprising given the big hits he had early in the playoffs. In this case, he just flies out to short on two pitches.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 4th inning
Peña hits a single on the first pitch he sees in the bottom of the fourth. Houston has a leadoff baserunner.
@hunterfelt I've got news for Joel. If he's in Bandung, he's in West Java, not Central. He was a bit outside the strike zone with that pitch.
— Ceri Rees (@CeriRee04443828) November 6, 2022
I am not going to wade into matters of geography. I don’t even know when I’m facing east or west in my own apartment.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 4th inning
Alec Bohm flies out to right on two pitches and that’s that for the Phillies in the fourth.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 4th inning
Up next is Nick Castellanos, who fouls off the first two pitches he sees to fall into a 0-2 hole. On 0-2, he hits one just foul along the third-base line. A lot of foul balls being hit there today. Castellanos takes a pitch. 1-2. Valdez shakes off a few signs from his catcher. The next pitch, that’s in the dirt. 2-2. He wants to see if Castellanos didn’t check his swing, but the umpires seem adamant that he did. 2-2.
Castellanos fouls off a pitch away to stay alive. Still 2-2. He fouls off the next pitch. Still 2-2. The next pitch is in the dirt. Full count. On 3-2, Castellanos fouls a ball that’s somewhere around his shoe tips. Probably was ball four, that. 3-2 once again. It’s a called strike three (not an actual strike, but the umpire’s word matters most). He strikes out looking.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 4th inning
Speaking of Harper, here he is to start off the top of the fourth. He fails to connect on a Valdez curveball. 0-1. The next pitch just misses the corner. 1-1. The next pitch? That’s a strike, one which Harper takes. 1-2. The next pitch is a ball, 80 mph. (That’s slow in baseball terms.) 2-2. Harper takes a huge cut, but that’s a 97 mph heater that he can’t hit. One down in the inning.
Email from Joel Eley:
Hi Hunter,
Following from Bandung in Central Java. They are making Vasquez work but need a run so badly. The Astros bullpen has been literally lights out so far. Need some Harper MVP magic like never before.
All the best
Joel
This is the annoying part for Philadelphia: the pitching seems to be holding up but the offense has gone ice-cold over the last 2+ games.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 3rd inning
Two out now, but there’s a runner on second for Houston. Altuve is back out there and the shortstop takes two balls before seeing his first strike. 2-1. Wheeler finds the zone with a fastball that freezes up Jose. 2-2. Altuve takes a nearly horizontal swing to foul off the next pitch. 2-2. On the next pitch, Altuve can’t connect and ends the inning. The Astros threat is snuffed out in the bottom of the third.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 3rd inning
Martin Maldonado is up next with a runner on first and now one out. He takes a strike looking. 0-1. And then he takes a ball. 1-1. Maldonado hits a ball into no man’s land in the third base area that allows McCormick to make it to second base, but he’s not quite quick enough to leg out an infield single and he’s out at first.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 3rd inning
Chas McCormick, who made the game-preserving catch in Game 5, is up with Mancini at first base. He takes a pitch and then fouls a pitch off. 1-1. He swings and misses. 1-2. The next pitch is high and out of the zone. Wheeler clearly trying to get McCormick to chase. He doesn’t. He also doesn’t chase ball three. He works a full count.
On 3-2, he breaks his bat in what would have been a double play if hit any harder. Instead, it’s just a fielder’s choice with Mancini erased at second.
Updated
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 3rd inning
Trey Mancini gets his first at-bat of the day. I feel like I should have a Henry Mancini gag ready to go but honestly, I realize that my references need to get much younger if I want them to keep giving me these liveblogging gigs.
Mancini fouls off the first two pitches he sees. Sign of a fast at-bat? You would think, but he takes two pitches out of the zone to even up the count. At 2-2, he fouls off a slider from Wheeler. At 2-2, Mancini finally gets a hit in the World Series. It’s a leadoff single for the Astros!
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 3rd inning
Realmuto, straight off of catching something like 789 straight postseason games (note: figure wildly inaccurate) is back out there. Valdez falls behind him 1-2 but manages to toss in an unhittable sinker in the zone for strike two. On 2-2, he gets Realmuto to swing and miss to end the inning.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 3rd inning
Hoskins gets ahead of Valdez 2-1 before taking a sinker in the zone for a strike. On 2-2, Hoskins takes a ball. 3-2. Hoskins just barely hits one foul, only foul by maybe an itch. Ridiculous. Still 3-2. He then takes a beauty of a curveball for strike three.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 3rd inning
Schwarber is already back out there to face Valdez for the second time. He takes a ball. 1-0. Valdez’s next pitch is also a ball. 2-0. Valdez finds the zone on his next three pitches for a strikeout.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 2nd inning
Christian Vázquez is up and he fouls off a pitch that probably was a ball. In fact, replay shows it nearly hitting him. Not the ideal way to start an at-bat. The next pitch? A called strike. 0-2. On the next pitch, he hits into an inning-ending double play.
The Grateful Dead’s “Estimated Prophet” takes us to the commercial break. The third inning cometh
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 2nd inning
Kyle Tucker is up and he shows bunt on Wheeler’s first pitch. He fouls it off for strike one. 0-1. He takes the next pitch inside. 1-1. The next pitch, he takes for a strike. 1-2. The next pitch is way high and Tucker doesn’t chase. 2-2. On the next pitch, Tucker checks his swing, but dinks the ball just foul. 2-2. Tucker gets a late swing on a breaking ball that Wheeler probably doesn’t want to throw again. It’s just a loud foul ball into the stands. 2-2. The next pitch. That’s a slider away. 3-2.
This is finally getting Wheeler to work here. Tucker swings at the next pitch and just gets a piece of it. Still 3-2. That’s the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Tucker fouls the ninth pitch away. My guess is he takes ball four here, that’s how these battles tend to go when the hitter has seen so many pitches.
And yep, that’s just what he does. That’ll be the Astros’ first baserunner.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 2nd inning
So, that “getting hits with runners-in-scoring position” thing seems to be a problem for the Phillies. Wheeler is back out there, getting Alex Bregman to ground on in two pitches.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 2nd inning
Edmundo Sosa is up next. He fouls off Valdez’s first pitch. 0-1. He then takes a huge swing and connects! He gets nearly all of it but that’s not enough as it stays in the park and ends up being an inning-ending flyball out.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 2nd inning
Matt Vierling is up next. He takes two straight sinkers for balls. 2-0, a prime hitter’s count. Or taking count, even. He takes ball three. 3-0. I’m going to guess Vierling is not one of those hitters with a green light.
Well, not here at least. He takes pitch four for a ball and now there are runners on first and second.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 2nd inning
Jean Segura is up with a runner on first. Valdez gets ahead of him 1-2 then fouls off two pitches. The next pitch is in the dirt. That’s ball two. 2-2. The next pitch is a curveball that lands in the top of the strike zone for strike three. Two down.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 2nd inning
Alec Bohm takes the first pitch he sees and deposits it into center field for a single, the first hit of the game.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 2nd inning
Nick Castellanos is put for Philadelphia. Valdez gets ahead of him 1-2 where he then proceeds to ground out… except the ball lands just foul. The at-bat continues. Castellanos takes a strike looking.
Email from Sir Richard:
Where to watch Game 6 of the World Series? Still not on mlb.tv. Lackaday. Radio comms it is. I’m going for a big Astros win and for me that would, if not eradicate the asterisk, then at least put it further into the rear-view mirror. Meanwhile, have you seen what Vladdy has said about the Yankees? The 2023 preseason has kicked off nice and early.
Yes, it should be noted that MLB.TV, as far as I can tell, doesn’t get you postseason games that are on major networks due to broadcasting rights. Related: I canceled that service over a decade ago (although it took several attempts).
If you don’t have access to FOX in the US or BT Sports in the UK, you’re probably going to have to resort to not-so-legal means to actually watch the games.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 1st inning
And Jeremy Peña grounds out to short. That’s two down for Wheeler. Álvarez promptly flies out. That’s a 1-2-3 inning for Wheeler, who needed a whole seven pitches to do it.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Bottom 1st inning
I just attempted to RT this liveblog to my Twitter account and the site asked if I wanted to read the article first. Dude, Elon, I am writing the article as we speak.
In any case, here’s Zack Wheeler pitching for Philadelphia, facing pesky leadoff man Jose Altuve. Wheeler’s first pitch is taken for a ball, while his second is taken for a strike. 1-1. The next pitch is taken for a strike. 1-2. Then Altuve gets himself out with a swing and a miss.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 1st inning
No worries from Valdez, who gets Harper to ground out to end the inning on just one pitch. It’s almost like he pitches better with baserunners on.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 1st inning
Valdez’s first pitch to slumping (and presumably exhausted) J.T. Realmuto is a strike looking. The next is pitch away. 1-1. Realmuto fouls the next pitch away. 1-2. The next pitch, that’s quite low. 2-2. And the next pitch… hits him. So that’s a runner at first with Bryce Harper up next.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 1st inning
The Phillies cannot. Rhys Hoskins immediately grounds into a double play.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 1st inning
Schwarber fouls off the next pitch and then swings and misses. Valdez is up 1-2. On the next pitch, Schwarber is convinced that he’s looked at strike three but the umpire doesn’t call it. Which is odd. So it’s 2-2 after he returns to the batter’s box. He takes a pitch that’s an actual pitch outside and then takes ball four on what probably should have been a strikeout.
Can the Phillies capitalize here early?
First pitch
Phillies 0-0 Astros, Top 1st inning
Framber Valdez is up for the Houston Astros, facing the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber. His first pitch is… a ball. Low. Game 6 has officially begun!
The FOX broadcast is playing, I swear, The War On Drugs heading out of this commercial break.
I feel pandered to but as a 40-year-old middle class white male, I am used to this.
FOX points out that Mancini is 0-for-18 in the series. I am definitely feeling better about my “Phillies force Game 7” prediction. I do like former Boston Red Sox catcher Vázquez at DH though, we do share a birthday after all, look for him to hit a home run here.
Houston Astros starting lineup
1. Jose Altuve, 2B
2. Jeremy Peña, SS
3. Yordan Álvarez, LF
4. Alex Bregman, 3B
5. Kyle Tucker, RF
6. Christian Vázquez , DH
7. Trey Mancini, 1B
8. Chas McCormick, CF
9. Martín Maldonado, C
Pitcher: Framber Valdez
National anthem
Wait are we doing the national anthem this early? It’s somebody named Andy Grammer. He’s very bad and has absolutely no range, or if he does he has decided to hide it for reasons unbeknownst to me! He goes wildly off-key at “free.” No wonder they tried to get this out of the way while fans were still filing in. (1/10)
Philadelphia Phillies starting lineup
1. Kyle Schwarber, LF
2. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
3. J.T. Realmuto, C
4. Bryce Harper, DH
5. Nick Castellanos, RF
6. Alec Bohm, 3B
7. Jean Segura, 2B
8. Matt Vierling, CF
9. Edmundo Sosa, SS
Pitcher: Zack Wheeler
Now that Justin Verlander finally has secured his first World Series win, we’re down to one major narrative: will Astros manager Dusty Baker finally get his first World Series ring?
It has to feel this very much feels like a “now or never” situation for the well-loved baseball lifer.
Predictions
Well, last time around I said that the Phillies would drop Game 5, which they did, but would manage to figure out a road win in Game 6 in order to force a Game 7. Well, here we are with the Phillies on the ropes and it feels like they’ll squeak by simply because this series has been too unpredictable to stop now.
Want me to be more specific? Let’s say that it’s a tied game late and Bryce Harper once again drives in the winning run, maybe in the 7th or 8th inning. I’m going to say the final score is 5-4 Phillies, but the game ends with the Astros stranding the tying run at third base. Nothing will be easy for them.
Then the Phillies, of course, lose in an anticlimactic Game 6. I’ll break down my Game 7 prediction tomorrow assuming that we actually have one. If we don’t, just pretend I never wrote any of this.
Agree? Disagree? Send your predictions here and we’ll post them throughout. You can email them to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or tweet them to @HunterFelt.
Today’s big news. Following Yuli Gurriel’s knee injury in Game 5 where he was hurt in the midst of a rundown, he’s been taken off the World Series roster. The 38-year-old first baseman will be replaced by catcher Korey Lee. Backup catcher Christian Guzman will now be the DH for the Astros.
If it’s like the Astros-Phillies game @thestephenjoy and I just played in The Show, Philly forces game 7 and it is WEIRD. https://t.co/Z1iyzrj7DT
— Shane’s Ennui Autumn (@ThatShaneBua) November 5, 2022
I’ll have my prediction a little later but it’s safe to say that I’m pretty sure at least a little weirdness will be on the docket for Game 6.
The story so far
I want to thank Earlier Version of Me for writing these succinct game summaries yesterday. Is it plagiarism when you copy what you’ve written in the past? Am I going to get sued like when John Fogerty gave us “The Old Man Down The Road?”
Game 1. Phillies 6-5 Astros. In Game 1, the Phillies stunned the Astros by recovering from a 5-0 deficit to hand Houston its first defeat in the playoffs.
Game 2. Phillies 2-5 Astros. In Game 2, the Phillies couldn’t rally back from a 5-0 deficit, which is usually how that plays out. With the win, the Astros tied up the series 1-1.
Game 3: Astros 0-7 Phillies. In Game 3, the series moved from Minute Maid Park to Citizens Bank Park, which ended up working out in favor of the Phillies who played home run derby to take a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4. Astros 5-0 Phillies. It looked like Philadelphia had Houston on the ropes, but the Astros simply decided to not allow the Phillies to get a single hit.
Game 5. Astros 3-2 Phillies. In what was the tightest game so far, the Astros relied on some good fortune and the Phillies’ struggles hitting with runners in scoring position to hang on to a one-run victory that has put them on the verge of their second World Series win.
Updated
Where to watch Game 6 of the World Series
While it was delayed by MLS Cup Final coverage (Philadelphia Union just lost to LAFC in what can’t possibly be a good omen for the Phillies), we’re finally in the pregame coverage of Game 6 of the 2022 World Series which is, in the US, airing live on FOX
More of an audio person? Me too. So, you can also listen on your local ESPN Radio affiliate or, barring that, ESPNradio.com. In the UK, you can see it on BT Sports starting in roughly 40 minutes or so or online through the BT Sports app.
Preamble
To quote a pair of history’s greatest lyrical poets: this could be the last time. This could be the last time. Maybe the last time. I don’t know!
Yes, the Houston Astros held on to a 3-2 win in Thursday’s Game 5 to take their first World Series lead at the best possible time. Now, at 3-2, the series returns to Houston’s Minute Maid Park where the Astros have two chances to beat the Philadelphia Phillies just once to win their second World Series. (And perhaps their first asterisk-free one.)
So, could this be in the end today? The Astros will hand the ball over to Framber Valdez, who got the win back in Game 2 Meanwhile, the Phillies are hoping that ace Zack Wheeler can return to form when he starts Game 6 and—if worst comes to worst—it’s pretty much an “all hands on deck” situation for their pitching staff. If Philadelphia doesn’t figure out a way to win tonight, after all, then the MLB season will be over.
So, for possibly the last time there will be baseball played in 2022. If you want to join in our discussion, this is the perfect time to do so because we might not get a Game 7. So, you can email us at hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or, if you have not (understandably) been driven away by Twitter’s new owner, you can send a tweet to @HunterFelt.
It’s the Philadelphia Phillies vs the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park in Game 6 of the 2022 World Series. We’re scheduled to start actual baseball at 8:03 pm EST but you know how that tends to go: expect possible delays. Either way, this blog will return well before then.
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look back at Houston’s win in Game 5.
