Houston Astros Are World Series Champions

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Scott Morris, Staff Writer

On Saturday, the Houston Astros captured their second World Series title in the past six years, after they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in a best-of-seven series 4-2. The underdog Phillies stole Game 1 from the Astros as they won in comeback fashion, via the heart of the batting order stepping up to drive in 4 of their 6-runs as they won 6-5 in 10 innings. However, the Astros would not be silenced in Game 2 as star pitcher Framber Valdez nearly silenced the Phillies’ bats during his 6-1/3rd as he struck out nine batters and only allowed four hits. Third baseman Alex Bregman of the Astros made his presence known as he hit a towering home run in the home half of the fifth inning to increase the Astros lead to 5-0 at the time. The final score of Game 2 was Astros 5 and Phillies 2.

Each team captured a victory as the series shifted from Houston to Philadelphia. The City of Philadelphia was hosting its first World Series Game since 2009, and the fans were sure to be heard as it was registered on a seismograph that records earthquakes. Phillies Superstar Bryce Harper finally had his World Series moment as he launched a 2-run homer which instantly gave his team an early advantage in the bottom of the first inning. The bats of the Phillies kept tailing via the home run ball, and as they won by a final score of 7-0, Ranger Suarez of the Phillies was efficient in providing five-scoreless innings, along with four strikeouts and three hits. Game 4 had a little November magic to it, as four Astros pitchers combined for only the second no-hitter in World Series history. Cristian Javier pitched six-no hit innings as he tallied nine strikeouts before handing the ball over to the bullpen to finish what he started. The Astros bats were scorching as they tagged Aaron Nola for three runs over four innings, ultimately winning by a final score of 5-0.

Game 5 was by far the closest game of the entire World Series as both teams were battling to score runs. The Astros ended up winning by a score of 3-2 behind a stellar pitching performance from Justin Verlander. Finally, as the series shifted back to Houston, the Astros held a 3-2 series lead over the Phillies, and they wanted to end it instantly. The first run of the clinching game was not scored until the top of the sixth as Kyle Schwarber launched a solo home run to right field. However, Astros’ youngster Yordan Alverez took matters into his own hands as he destroyed a baseball 450 feet to dead center field, putting the Astros ahead and ultimately leading to a World Series Title. The Astros’ closer Ryan Pressly would shut the door on the Phillies at the top of the ninth, sealing the deal for Houston.