2022 World Series Game 5 Astros vs Phillies summary: score, stats and updates

That is going to be it from our live coverage of Game 5, but join us again on Saturday for Game 6 in Houston.

The Phillies, on the other hand, will have to rise to the challenge of stealing both games on the road. They can certainly do it, but it is a stiff order for them.

With the move back to Houston, the Astros have two home games to find one win, something which would seem to take the pressure off of them.

Justin Verlander had his best-ever World Series start, after giving up that opening home run he managed to slam on the brakes and hold the Phillies there for five complete innings.

Once he made way for the bullpen, Dusty Baker played the same plan as he did in Game 4, asking each pitcher in turn to get one inning for him. There was a moment of doubt when Montero was taken out early and Ryan Pressly was asked to pick up the slack.

Pressly's performance was outstanding, slamming the door closed on the thick end of the Phillies batting order.

Astros lead series

The Phillies have now lost two out of three here at home, a feat which is incredible in itself. But more importantly, the Astros now lead the series three games to two and will head back to Minute Maid Park needing only one more win.

The payoff pitch is chopped to short. Peña makes the throw to first and that is the ball game. Houston Astros hang on and win this one 3-2.

Castellanos doesn't bite and the count is now full. Harper will be running. It all comes down to this pitch.

Pressly will throw him stuff in the dirt, hoping he will chase.

Castellanos gets in a hole 0-2

This is one of the best catches you will ever see.

A slider hits Harper right on the front foot. He gets on base and is the tying run. Nick Castellanos needs to put it in play.

Bryce Harper comes up for the Phillies as their last chance.

JT Realmuto bangs one to deep center field. Chas McCormick leaps for it and makes the catch against the wall! He hangs on in a spectacular play to make the second out. Talk about stepping up at the right time. This is huge!

Laying off a ball, Hoskins is finally served up a fastball and swings through it for out number one.

Pressly goes with his breaking pitches against Hoskins and he fouls off four in a row.

Rhys Hoskins is leading off.

Bottom 9

The Astros will send Pressly out to the mound. It is unusual to get your closer to go this many outs, but they are up against it. If he can't slam this door shut on the Phillies, the game could slip away.

The Phillies are down to their last three outs, we head to the bottom of the ninth with the Astros up 3-2.

For a hitter who likes to chase the first pitch, Altuve is showing remarkable patience, working the count to 2-1 before hitting a chopper to third. Bohm steps on the bag to get one, then the long throw to first... in time! The Phillies get out of trouble.

Runners are now on first and second with one out for Jose Altuve.

Martín Maldonado comes to the plate and pokes a slow roller through between first and second. Broken bat single.

Chas McCormick goes down swinging on a great curve ball from Eflin. One down.

David Hensley leads off for Houston and hacks one, basically a swinging bunt, and beats it out to first for an infield hit.

Top 9

The Phillies bring on Zach Eflin to keep the Astros in check.

Trey Mancini may have just saved the World Series for the Astros with this play

The Phillies are still in the game

Kyle Schwarber comes to the plate and hits one right on the screws but directly at Mancini at first. Incredible play to get the last out.

Marsh goes down swinging for the second out.

Brandon Marsh comes up with runners at the corners. The Astros are asking their closer to get five outs, which may be a tall order.

New pitcher: Astros

Ryan Pressly comes in to try and get out of trouble here in the eighth.

Castellanos scores

Segura lines one into right field, one run scores and Stott moves over to third. Dusty Baker is going to make the pitching change now. It is a one-run game now with the Phillies coming back 3-2.

Montero delivers the slider for a strike.

Ryan Pressly is warming up in the Astros' bullpen.

Jean Segura comes up with two on an only one out.

Montero misses and walks Stott on four pitches.

Bryson Stott is a more discerning hitter, running the count to 3-0.

Alec Bohm comes up swinging aggressively and goes down punching the air for the first out.

The count runs full and Castellanos stays picky, drawing the ball four walk.

Bottom 8

The Astros bring on Rafael Montero to get through the eighth. Mancini has stayed in at first base and Nick Castellanos will lead off.

The count goes full and Mancini chases a terrible curve in the dirt. Robertson gets out of jail and the Phillies will now come up in the bottom of the eighth down 3-1. They are running out of outs to get back on top.

He sits on a few to get the count to 2-2. Alex Bregman steals second without a throw.

Mancini has had a terrible time at the plate this post season.

Trey Mancini is now pinch hitting for Yuli Gurriel, which is not good news for the Astros first baseman. His knee must have really been hurt in that rundown.

He ropes a hard shot to right field, but Castellanos jumped on his horse and ran it down for the second out. Peña tagged up at second and made it to third on the play.

Runners now at first and second for Kyle Tucker.

Alex Bregman comes to the plate and stays strong, fighting off some pitches to get the count full. The payoff misses in and he gets the walk.

Altuve scores from third

Yordan Álvarez comes chops one down the line to first. Rhys Hoskins bobbles it and manages to tag Álvarez. Everyone else advances with Altuve scoring from third. One down, Peña at second and the Astros extend their lead to 3-1.

New pitcher: Phllies

Thomson signals the bullpen and David Robertson comes in to try and work out of this mess.

Jeremy Peña comes to the plate and the hit and run is on. Altuve takes off and Peña pokes it through the gap at second for a single. Altuve makes it into third. Runners at the corners with nobody out.

Altuve likes to swing the bat and he has shown great patience in this at-bat. He is rewarded with a walk.

Top 8

The Phillies send Dominguez out to take the mound and face Jose Altuve in the seventh.

Bryce Harper pops one to third base where Alex Bregman pulls it down to end the inning.

JT Realmuto is much more aggressive, swinging the lumber but not able to catch up to the fastballs. He goes down on three pitches, two away.

Hoskins watches a called strike three as a slider on the top outside part of the plate rings him up for the third time tonight.

Bottom 7

Abreu back out to face Rhys Hoskins to lead off things here in the seventh.

Not a great hitter at the best of times, Maldonado chases three terrible pitches, grounding the last one to short. Stott makes the play at first for the last out.

The Phillies are now in a more comfortable position with Martín Maldonado up to bat with a runner on second and two outs.

Ground ball to short and Gurriel gets caught in a run down. He is put out but stays in it long enough to allow McCormick to make it to second base.

One down now and a man on third for Chas McCormick.

David Hensley comes up and Dominguez throws a high wild one that gets past Realmuto. Gurriel moves over to third.

Gurriel pops one to shallow center. Marsh charges and slides but can't get to it as it falls in under his diving glove. Gurriel never stops as he rounds first and is in with a stand-up double.

Top 7

The Phillies bring on their ace Seranthony Dominguez to try and stay on top of things. He will face Yuli Gurriel to start the seventh.

He hits one directly at Jose Altuve, who makes the throw to first to end the inning.

Runners are now at first and second with two outs and now Kyle Schwarber comes to the plate.

New pitcher: Astros

The skipper hands the ball to Bryan Abreu, who throws the first pitch into the arm of Brandon Marsh.

Neris got through his three-batter minimum and Dusty Baker takes a stroll to the mound. He'll make the change right now.

Jean Segura goes down swinging for the second out.

He lifts one over to right center field. There seemed to be confusion between Tucker and McCormick as to who would take the catch. At the last second, Tucker grabs it for the out.

Bryson Stott comes to the plate with the tying run on first and nobody out.

Bohm lines one over Altuve's outstretched glove for a single.

Bottom 6

Héctor Neris comes on to pitch for Houston in the bottom of the sixth and he will face Alec Bohm to lead off.

Kyle Tucker is up now and bounces one to Hoskins at first, who steps on the bag to end the inning. We head to the bottom of the sixth with Houston up 2-1

Alex Bregman stands in and gets hit by a pitch. The Astros now have runners at first and second with two outs.

Houston challenge whether he was hit or not. It was pretty confusing. Apparently the umpire didn't think that he was hit, but they have now overturned that call and awarded the HBP.

Yordan Álvarez's turn now and he pops one behind the bag at second for an easy put out. Two gone.

Jeremy Peña comes to the plate and goes down swinging for the first out.

Altuve falls behind but battles back before poking one up the middle. Segura fields it behind the bag, but Altuve is too speedy for the throw. It will be an infield hit for Altuve.

Top 6

The Phillies bring on Jose Alvarado for the sixth, just one night after appearing in relief and surrendering three runs. Jose Altuve will lead off for Houston.

A tough-fought at-bat from Castellanos. Nine pitches and fouling five off before popping one up to left field for Yordan Álvarez to end the inning.

Nick Castellanos comes up with Harper on second and two down. A single scores a run.

They have scored it a double, which seems generous to Harper.

Bryce Harper lines one into right field. Kyle Tucker boots the ball and Harper manages to get into second. It will be a single and an error on Tucker.

JT Realmuto comes to the plate and is overpowered by the fastball, swinging and missing for the second out.

Hoskins watches a called strike three on a good cutter just painting the outside corner. Verlander seems to have found his control. One down.

Bottom 5

Somewhat improbably after his first two innings, Verlander is on the mound for the fifth. He seems to have settled somewhat and he will face Rhys Hoskins to get things started.

Martín Maldonado goes down swinging to end the inning. Brogdon is looking solid as we head to the bottom of the fifth, 2-1 Astros.

Chas McCormick chops one to third and Bohm backhands it, makes the throw in time. Two down.

Hensley swings through a brilliant change up for strike three.

The Phillies bullpen is in full swing now.

Top 5

David Hensley leads off for Houston and Brogdon attacks him with high fastballs.

Schwarber takes a beautiful curve for strike three and he immediately knew it. First one-two-three inning for Verlander. We go to the fifth with the Astros leading 2-1.

Top of the order now with Kyle Schwarber and gets breaking pitches, evening the count out at 2-2.

Brandon Marsh comes up and goes down looking at a wonderful 97 mph fastball that paints that outside corner. Two away.

Jean Segura leads off and chops one to Peña at short. The throw just gets him in a bang-bang play for the first out.

Bottom 4

Verlander comes back out for the fourth and has had a turgid evening so far. He has only given up one run, but boy has he had to work.

The stats get ever more obscure, no matter how cool.

Yuli Gurriel comes up to bat and chases a high fastball for strike three to end the inning. Middle four, it is 2-1 Astros.

Laying off a couple of pitches, the count runs to 2-2 before he swings through a change up for strike three. Two down.

Kyle Tucker blasts one a mile to right field, just foul.

Laying off the next one, he lines one off the top of the left field wall, missing a home run by the height of that rail at the top of the fence. He tests Schwarber's arm and slides in safe at second with a double.

Alex Bregman comes up and sees a change up for strike one.

Álvarez goes down swinging at a high fastball. One down.

New pitcher: Phillies

That is going to be it for Syndergaard. Connor Brogdon will take over and face Yordan Álvarez with no outs in the fourth.

Peña home run

A hanging curve out over the middle of the plate and Peña drives it out over Kyle Schwarber's head in left field. Home run.

Top 4

Jeremy Peña now leads off for the Astros in the fourth.

Gold Gloves are given out for a reason

Bryson Stott flies out to right field to end the inning. 1-1 at the end of three.

Alec Bohm pokes one past Peña into left field for a two-out single. Harper stops at second.

With Harper threatening to go, Castellanos lines the second pitch to short, but Peña nabs it for the second out. Harper manages to get back to first.

Nick Castellanos stands in and gets a fastball strike.

Bryce Harper comes up and works the count full. The payoff pitch misses inside for ball four. Six pitches, nothing but fastballs.

Working the count to 2-2, Verlander throws a really great slider that Realmuto offers on for strike three.

Bottom 3

Verlander is still in for the Astros and faces Realmuto

Jose Altuve comes up now and chops one to short. Stott fields it and makes the throw to end the inning. Midway through 3, it is still 1-1

Martín Maldonado comes to the plate and ropes one to center field, but it is not really any trouble for Brandon Marsh. Two away.

Top 3

Chas McCormick leads off for the Astros and flies one out to Castellanos in right for the first out.

With that Schwarber blast, Verlander has given up 10 home runs in the World Series, more than anyone else.

Another breaking ball and Hoskins swings and misses to end the threat. End of two and we are still 1-1

Verlander misses with a couple and he is not even close. His velocity is high 90s but his control is waaaay off.

Hoskins fouls one off and is 0-2 down.

The Astros bullpen is up and working.

Verlander is still feeling around in the darkness with his pitches, he is not sure what is working for him. Rhys Hoskins comes in and swings at a breaking pitch for strike one.

He misses again to load the bases and now with back-to-back walks, the Astros pitching coach comes out.

His fastballs seem to be rising on him. He misses two high, great velocity, but they are just taking off out of his hand.

A great curve ball lands in for strike one. Verlander tries another that misses, but perhaps he is going to have to try and lean a little heavier on his breaking pitches.

Kyle Schwarber is up now and Maldonado goes out to chat with his pitcher.

Verlander gets behind with the 3-1 count and delivers a fastball high for ball four. The Phillies have a great opportunity here. Two outs and runners on first and second.

Brandon Marsh now comes up with two outs and a man on first.

Jean Segura goes swinging at the first pitch and lines it into left for a base hit.

Bryson Stott comes in and pops one up behind second base for Jeremy Peña. Pretty routine catch for out number two.

Bottom 2

Verlander will face Bohm in the second. He pops the first pitch almost straight up. Maldonado looks like he loses the ball, and Bregman steams in and takes the catch for the first out.

Syndergaard doesn't back away from the curve ball and it pays off for him, Hensley swinging through it to end the inning.

David Hensley comes up and swings through three straight breaking pitches, fouling one off. In a deep hole here at 0-2

Yuli Gurriel stands in and pops one up in foul territory for JT Realmuto. Two away.

On a 2-2 pitch, Tucker can't hold off on the check swing for strike three. On down.

Top 2

Kyle Tucker will lead off proceedings in the second.

Schwarber's hit was a doozy!

A high pop foul makes it 0-2 before Castellanos skies one out to Álvarez to end the inning. At the end of one, all tied up here at 1-1

Nick Castellanos swings aggressively at the first pitch for a strike.

Bryce Harper is at the plate for Philadelphia and fights through a tough at-bat to run it full before drawing the two-out walk.

JT Realmuto comes up for Philly and pops one behind second for Jose Altuve. He puts it away for the second out.

Rhys Hoskins comes up and lines one to Yordan Álvarez in left for out number one.

Schwarber home run

Schwarber jumped on Verlander in only two pitches. Home run to right field! The Phillies have tied it up.

Bottom 1

Justin Verlander takes the mound for Houston and faces Kyle Schwarber to lead off for the Phillies.

What a throw!

Renewed confidence in Syndergaard to get out of trouble in a hurry. But the Astros have drawn first blood. We go into the middle of one, Houston up 1-0

Alex Bregman comes up and swings and misses on three straight pitches to end the inning.

Peña on first is a threat to run. Álvarez gets the payoff delivery and swings at a high one that should have been ball four.

Peña ran on the pitch, and had a great jump actually, but JT Realmuto unleashed a cannon and nailed him dead to rights at second. Strike em out, throw em out.

Boy did Syndergaard need that! Two down.

Álvarez sees not much that is even close and the count runs full. This is troubling for Philadelphia.

Altuve has been given a double and Marsh charged with an error on the bobble that allowed him to take third.

Yordan Álvarez comes up and Syndergaard is in trouble quickly here in the first.

Astros score

Jeremy Peña slaps one straight up the middle for a single, scoring Altuve from third. In no time at all, the Astros are on the board 1-0.

Altuve hits the second pitch off the top of the wall in center field. He missed a home run by about a foot. Marsh bobbles the ball and Altuve rounds second and makes it into third with a leadoff triple!

We are off

Jose Altuve leads off for the Astros and takes one outside for ball one. We are off!

A pitcher who relies on movement, Syndergaard leans on his sinker and slider, although he will go changeup sometimes. His fastball and curve are only brought out about 10-15% of the time. If you are on the Astros, you are looking for movement.

The Phillies are out in the powder-blue uniforms. The last time they were worn in the World Series was back in 1983.

Top 1

Noah Syndergaard takes the mound for the Phillies. His work is more suited to middle relief but Rob Thomson will be looking to get three solid innings out of him.

We are just about ready to get going!

A wild ride

Although Yankees fans and Dodgers fans may not want to admit it, this World Series has been a wild ride. Records tied and broken as the pendulum swings back and forth.

Justin Verlander's legacy

It makes almost no sense that he has never won a World Series game.

An iconic look

Best uniforms in baseball

Ceremonial First Pitch

Brad Lidge knows a thing or two about these teams, having pitched as a setup man and closer for both the Astros and the Phillies. Part of the 2005 Houston World Series team, he performed a remarkable injury comeback, getting the save in the decisive Game 5 of the 2008 World Series for Philadelphia.

Even more astounding was his perfect season as a reliever, saving 41-for-41 of his opportunities and going 7-for-7 in the post season. In commemoration of the season, he gifted 12 customized Rolex Submariners to members of the Phillies bullpen.

“Lights Out” Lidge will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to former Phillies' catcher Carlos Ruiz, reuniting the battery who clinched Philly’s second World Series title 14 years ago.

In another move to bring back the magic, and perhaps dispel the bad juju, the Phillies will take the field tonight wearing their iconic powder-blue uniforms.

Philadelphia native, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, Jazmine Sullivan will then perform the National Anthem.

Interesting Game 5 facts, courtesy of MLB.com

• Gurriel’s 26 World Series hits are three more than any other Cuban-born player (Tony Pérez, 23). He has now gone 47 consecutive postseason at-bats without a strikeout, four short of Joey Cora’s record 51 at-bats in the 1995 postseason.

• The Astros are 3-0 all-time in Game 5 in the World Series.

• Altuve’s single in Game 4 of the World Series gave him 100 career postseason hits, which is the sixth most in Major League history behind Yadier Molina (102), Jorge Posada (103), Manny Ramirez (117), Bernie Williams (128) and Derek Jeter (200).

• In postseason series with the current 2-3-2 format that have been tied after four games, the team playing on the road in Game 5 has gone on to take the series 32 of 57 times (56 percent). In all best-of-seven series tied 2-2, the Game 5 winner has won the series 45 of 64 times (70 percent).

Lineups

Astros
Jose Altuve, 2B
Jeremy Peña, SS
Yordan Alvarez, LF
Alex Bregman, 3B
Kyle Tucker, RF
Yuli Gurriel, 1B
David Hensley, DH
Chas McCormick, CF
Martín Maldonado, C

Phillies
Kyle Schwarber, LF
Rhys Hoskins, 1B
J.T. Realmuto, C
Bryce Harper, DH
Nick Castellanos, RF
Alec Bohm, 3B
Bryson Stott, SS
Jean Segura, 2B
Brandon Marsh, CF

The only change to either team’s lineups is that Houston have gone back to Martín Maldonado behind the dish. While this is a perfect situation to maintain the Verlander-Maldonado battery, it does sacrifice some of the offensive sting that Velazquez brings to the position.

Shifting Yordan Álvarez back into left field, David Hensley makes a return appearance at DH, having gone 1-for-3 in his only other appearance in the series. That designated hitter spot has been a hitless vacuum in this Astros batting order, and surely a source of headache for Dusty Baker.

Starting Pitchers

Astros
RHJustin Verlander
1.75 ERA
175.0 IP
185 SO
0.83 WHIP

Phillies
RHNoah Syndergaard
3.94 ERA
134.2 IP
95 SO
1.25 WHIP

The winds in this World Series have been swirling, blowing one way, then shifting back the other, before turning yet again. The Houston Astros were momentarily stunned in Game 1 when they blew a five-run lead, before gaining control of the runaway car in Game 2. Moving north, the rains delayed Game 3, only to have the Phillies hit a record-matching five home runs before Game 4 saw their bats fall silent as the Astros stitched together a no-hit performance.

And now the winds have calmed and the direction of the gusts is not readily discernable.

That Game 1 shock was largely in response to the disconnect between the expectation and performance of Justin Verlander. The Astros ace is almost a tap-in for the Hall of Fame and is arguably the best pitcher of his generation. His 2022 season can only be described as “dominant” and is widely seen as the only serious claimant for the American League’s Cy Young Award.

Starting Game 1 by retiring the first 9 batters he faced, Verlander hung around too long as the Phillies dialled into him second time through the order and he saw the Astros lead slip through his fingers. Looking for redemption tonight, he admits that he had “some mechanical things” that he has worked on in the intervening days. “But there's really no way to know how it's going until you get in the game and see the hitters' reactions.”

The Phillies will counter Verlander with a pitching legend of their own in Noah Syndergaard. While there was some thought given to Zack Wheeler, manager Rob Thomson gave Thor the nod when it was reported that Wheeler, though not actually injured, is feeling some “arm fatigue.”

More at home in the middle reliever spot, it is not expected that Syndergaard will get past three innings. His post season high-water mark is only 35 pitches thrown, so the Phillies will be looking to him to shut out the Astros early giving their offense a chance to jump out to an early lead. The bullpen for Philadelphia will be active from about the second inning onward.

Good evening and welcome to Diario AS USA’s live commentary stream of Game 5 of the 2022 World Series.