The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros in dramatic fashion Friday night to take Game 1 of the World Series 6-5 in extras. The Phillies won with a home run by J.T. Realmuto in the top of the 10th inning, hushing a raucous home crowd at Houston’s Minute Maid Park. Houston then failed to score with runners on second and third to end the game.
The Astros first jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the bottom of the 3rd inning, with four runs scored off a pair of blasts hit by Kyle Tucker in his first two at-bats. Philadelphia soon responded with three runs in the 4th and tied the game in the 5th after a Realmuto double. A diving catch by right fielder Nick Castellanos with two outs in the bottom of the 9th preserved a 5-5 tie, keeping what would have been Houston’s winning run on second base and sending the game to extra innings.
Realmuto – who became the first catcher with an extra inning home run in the World Series since Carlton Fisk’s famous Game 6 walkoff in 1975 – praised his team’s ability to come back.
“The way we fought back in that game after being down 5-0, that is a Phillies win right there,” Realmuto said. Of the winning home run, “all I was trying to do is get on base. I was trying to see some pitches early,” he said. “Got a good pitch to hit. Luckily, I was able to put a good swing on it.”
