The Philadelphia Phillies are two of the most unlikely title wins after tying a World Series record with five home runs in a 7-0 loss to favorites Houston Astros on Tuesday night in Game 3.
Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer on the first pitch he faced late in the first inning, Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh added solo shots in the second, then Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins returned backs back in the fifth. All of the long pitches came from Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr, who became the first pitcher to give up five homers in one World events Game.
That was more than enough for Ranger Suarez, the Phillies’ unheralded left-handed starter who scattered three hits in five scoreless innings against the Astros’ mighty roster. From there, Connor Brogdon, Kyle Gibson, Nick Nelson and Andrew Bellatti added a scoreless frame apiece to complete the Phillies’ five-batter and first shutout in Fall Classic play since 1993.
“He’s just a guy with no heartbeat,” Philadelphia wide receiver JT Realmuto said of Suarez, a longtime Phillie who signed with the club as a teenager in 2012. child’s play.”
The Astros’ best opportunity came with two outs in the top of the fifth when Chas McCormick and Martin Maldonado reached base, but Suarez persuaded a Jose Altuve pop-up to put the team out. Moments later, Schwarber and Hoskins battled back-to-back plate appearances to chase McCullers out of the game while sending the sold-out crowd of 45,712 fans into pandemonium.
“It was pretty mind-blowing because he’s not giving up home runs,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said of McCullers. “He usually keeps the ball in the stadium. He wasn’t satisfied with it. We were very surprised. »
Long-suffering Phillies fans had waited 4,746 days for World Series baseball to return to South Philadelphia – then another day after Game 3 was postponed for 24 hours due to heavy rain Monday night – and gave the American League champions a listening ear from the first at bat. Roaring chants of “Cheaters! Cheaters!” cascade from the upper deck throughout the night, a nod to the Sign-stealing scandal in Houston which tainted their first and only World Series title in 2017.
“Just walking into the ballpark, just being back home, is such a boost for us just for the sheer fact of our fan base,” said Harper, making his World Cup debut. Series three years after joining the Phillies with a record $330. m, 13-year contract. “We’re all coming here and we’re ready to go and we’re excited to step onto the pitch because we know they’re going to show up and there’s going to be 46,000 people here screaming and screaming and going crazy.
“This whole city is so excited to be right now and we’re thrilled to be able to play in front of them and have this opportunity and just be here with them.”
On paper, this year’s Fall Classic seemed like a historic shift. Houston has won 19 more games than Philadelphia in the regular season, the biggest disparity between World Series opponents in all but one edition: when the 116-win Cubs were beaten by the 93-win White Sox in 1906.
But the Phillies, the last team to qualify for the playoffs and the first third-place club to reach the World Series, caught fire at the right time. They’ve gone to six-of-six home playoff wins, with a total of 17 home runs in those games, and seem determined to finish here rather than return to Houston for the final two scheduled best-of-seven contests.
“The only thing I can compare it to is really a game of European football,” Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos said of the team’s home-field advantage, comparing it to a trip he made to Anfield watch Liverpool. “It’s tough to play here, even as a home player, but I can’t imagine what it’s like for the Astros right now. They really don’t have any wiggle room. And that’s a good thing.
The Phillies’ five home runs in a single World Series game tied a record set three times: by the 1928 New York Yankees, 1989 Oakland A’s and 2017 Astros, who used cameras and video monitors to fly the panels. opposing receivers.
Historically, when the World Series has been tied at one game apiece, the winner of Game 3 has won the title more than two-thirds of the time (41 of 61 overall).
The series resumes with Game 4 on Wednesday night, when Houston sends Cristian Javier to the mound against Phillies ace Aaron Nola, who will work on the normal rest due to Monday’s postponement.