Jeremy Pena’s HR propels Astros past Phillies in Game 5, 1 win away from World Series title

Nov 3, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (3) reacts after hitting a solo home run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fourth inning in game five of the 2022 World Series at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
By Andy McCullough
Nov 4, 2022

PHILADELPHIA — In the 16 years between Game 1 of the 2006 World Series and Game 5 of the 2022 World Series, Justin Verlander had lived out a career of which few could even dream. He made nine All-Star teams and captured an MVP trophy. He collected two American League Cy Young awards, with a third likely on the way. He married a movie star and returned from elbow reconstruction as dominant as ever. He had even earned a ring with the 2017 Houston Astros.

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What he had not done, between that night in 2006 when he pitched as a Detroit Tiger and a 3-2 Astros victory Thursday night over the Philadelphia Phillies, was record the victory in a World Series game. It took nine tries, from 2006 to 2012 to 2017 to 2019 to Game 1 of this very series, but Verlander has notched the last remaining item on his Hall of Fame resume. He logged five innings of one-run baseball, evading catastrophe in the early frames before handing off the lead to the vaunted Astros bullpen. He dealt with heavy traffic in a hostile environment but did not buckle.

One night after the group finished off a no-hitter, the Houston relievers pushed the team to the brink of a championship. With a 3-2 lead, the Astros will now have two cracks at finishing off the Phillies. Houston blew a similar advantage at Minute Maid Park against Washington in 2019. No team has clinched a title on its home field since 2013.

For three nights at Citizens Bank Park, the people of Philadelphia stomped and screamed and soaked in the joy of seeing the Fall Classic return to this ballpark. The first day was the one that will be remembered best. Game 3 was a party. Game 4 featured the bitter taste of unwanted history. And Game 5 served as a coronation of sorts for Verlander and a cotillion for Jeremy Peña. The rookie shortstop paced Houston’s offense. He cracked an RBI single in the first inning and swatted the go-ahead home run in the fourth off Phillies starter Noah Syndergaard. He sliced a hit-and-run single that led to an insurance run in the eighth.

In all, Peña had three hits. The Phillies managed only six as a group and left 12 men on base. The offense squandered chances against Verlander and could not complete an eighth-inning rally. A one-out RBI single by second baseman Jean Segura cut Houston’s lead to one and placed runners at the corners. Houston closer Ryan Pressly kept them there. Pressly struck out outfielder Brandon Marsh in three pitches and first baseman Trey Mancini vacuumed a hard-hit grounder from outfielder Kyle Schwarber to defuse the threat. In the ninth, Astros outfielder Chas McCormick scaled the center-field wall to steal extra bases from catcher J.T. Realmuto and protect Pressly’s five-out save.

After Astros starter Cristian Javier led a four-man brigade in Game 4, Phillies manager Rob Thomson gathered his players. He reminded them they had been no-hit earlier in the season by the Mets. The next day, the team won. He was brief and direct. There was no reason for the embarrassment to linger.

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“I really don’t give a shit,” Schwarber said later that night.

The club carried that vibe into Thursday. Schwarber led a band of hitters through their pregame hitting against a pitching machine calibrated to throw curveballs. Syndergaard walked barefoot around the outfield. Jose Alvarado, one night after combusting in relief, pedaled a bicycle behind the batting cage. “Not sure if I want one of our key relievers riding a bike around the ballpark,” Thomson said. “But nonetheless, it shows that they’re loose.”

The Astros staggered Syndergaard at the start. Jose Altuve greeted him by blasting a fastball off the center-field wall. Outfielder Brandon Marsh played the double into a three-base hit. In an earlier incarnation, Syndergaard bullied hitters with an upper 90s fastball. The pitch had lost steam as he returned from Tommy John surgery. Peña plated Altuve by threading an RBI single up the middle on a 95.4 mph fastball.

At that moment, it looked like Syndergaard might unravel. He had not started a game since Oct. 15. He had not pitched since Oct. 22. His most recent appearance had lasted six batters. Thomson would not be shy about hooking him. As Syndergaard searched for his footing, his catcher provided stability.

Syndergaard refused to tempt Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez with much in the zone, but Alvarez still couldn’t resist. When Syndergaard got him to swing through a full-count fastball, Peña broke for second base. Realmuto skipped a throw to shortstop Bryson Stott. Stott used his foot to block Peña’s lunge toward the bag and dropped the tag. The double play let Syndergaard breathe and slowed Houston’s offense.

Schwarber led off the bottom of the first. He had insisted he would not lose sleep over the no-hitter. He needed only two pitches to ensure history would not repeat itself. Schwarber detonated an elevated fastball from Verlander and watched it land in the right-field seats. Schwarber flipped his bat and strutted around the bases.

After Peña’s first-inning single, Syndergaard sat down eight hitters in a row. Then Peña led off the fourth. Syndergaard hung a 2-2 curveball. Peña sent a drive toward left field. Schwarber tracked it to the wall before giving up. It was gone, a deadlock-breaking solo homer, Peña’s fourth this postseason. Syndergaard was done for the evening.

Verlander was still going. His outing required faith from manager Dusty Baker. Before the game, Baker was asked how watchful his eye would be with Verlander. “Everybody’s wondering, ‘Is he on a short leash?’” Baker said. “No, he doesn’t have a leash at all. I mean, he’s Justin Verlander.”

The rhetoric only went so far. Verlander issued a pair of walks around a single in the second inning to load the bases. As Verlander dueled with first baseman Rhys Hoskins, Baker tipped his hand: Ryne Stanek began throwing in the bullpen. Verlander wriggled free of the danger by striking out Hoskins with a tightly wound slider. In the fourth, after Verlander had stranded two more runners in the prior inning, Bryan Abreu warmed as Verlander completed his first 1-2-3 frame of the night.

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For the fifth, a new potential replacement emerged. Hector Neris took the bullpen mound as Verlander waded through the heart of Philadelphia’s order. Neris stayed there, even as Verlander let the tying run reach scoring position. Bryce Harper crushed a two-out double that brought outfielder Nick Castellanos to the plate. A 10-pitch rock fight ensued. Castellanos fouled out a slider and another slider and a fastball and a third slider and a changeup and a curveball before at last flying out on a full-count slider.

Verlander pumped his fist and pounded his glove as the third out descended into Alvarez’s glove in left field. He had thrown 94 pitches. He was in line for a victory. He had done the minimum to end the 16-year skid. It was still enough.

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Rosenthal: How Justin Verlander, after 516 starts, earned his first World Series win — 'I can say I got one'

(Photo: Bill Streicher / USA Today)

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Andy McCullough

Andy McCullough is a senior writer for The Athletic covering MLB. He previously covered baseball at the Los Angeles Times, the Kansas City Star and The Star-Ledger. A graduate of Syracuse University, he grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Follow Andy on Twitter @ByMcCullough