2022 World Series Game 6 Phillies vs Astros summary: score, stats and updates
Phillies 1-4 Astros FINAL SCORE
Astros 2022 Champions
From the early days of April, it was clear that the Houston Astros were one of the best teams in baseball, if not the best. They kept pace with the Dodgers and Yankees throughout the season and as the dog days of summer started to wear on their opposition, the Astros seemed to find a second wind.
Easily topping the American League, they had an easier road than the Phillies did through the post season, with a week’s rest and home field advantage that looked as if it may have backfired on them in the ALCS.
The Philadelphia Phillies, by contrast, had a season that should have condemned them to a season bound in shallows and miseries. After a dismal start, they fired their coach and turned over the reins to their bench coach Rob Thomson. They would have been forgiven for simply muddling through the season, finishing somewhere in the middle of the division. But no, they turned it around and squeaked into the Wild Card series.
To get to the World Series, they had to do things the hard way, playing and winning the most playoff games on the road of any team. The fact that they got here at all is a miracle. To have taken the Astros to six games is something that they can really be proud of, all things considered.
But in the end, the depth and quality of the Astros won out. Dusty Baker had a bullpen at his disposal that meant that he was under no pressure to perform acrobatics to close out innings. The Phillies often had to twist themselves into increasingly bizarre positions to keep pace. Having said that, there were moments when some of Philadelphia’s moves made no sense.
Pulling your starting pitcher when he has been dominant, even unhittable, after a 71-pitch five innings simply because he gave up two singles shows a level of underlying panic. Sometimes, you have to take a deep breath and have some faith in your guy.
The Phillies looked more and more like they were grasping at straws in the final innings. Kyle Schwarber bunting foul with two strikes in the ninth inning was mind-boggling. Don’t get me wrong, I love a bunt. I am one of the voices who lament the game’s shift to analytics driven play and love nothing more than small-ball tactics. But that was a move that smacked of desperation.
It is difficult to be too hard on the Phillies though. They had a wonderful run and were simply overmatched in the end. This Astros team is a true heavyweight champion. They are the best team in baseball and finally that is without dispute.
That is going to be it from our live coverage, it has been a real pleasure to see the season play out, and we will have all of the off-season news, trades, and rumors here at Diario AS USA through the dark winter.
As Spring Training gets underway in the new year, we will bring you all of the baseball news from around the league, plus college and World Baseball Classic coverage. Until then, have a great winter.
The World Series MVP is Jeremy Peña, who was also the ALCS MVP and Gold Glove winner. Peña's rookie season was nothing short of remarkable. Who would have thought that losing Carlos Correa might result in this?
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The Astros beat the Dodgers in 2017, but bygones are bygones right?
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Here is a look at the final out
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Dusty Baker now becomes the oldest manager to ever win a World Series.
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It is official
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This win is seen by many in baseball as a validation of this Astros team. Perhaps they will finally be able to shake off the bad feeling among many baseball fans that has dogged the organization since the 2017 sign stealing scandal. Only five people who were on that team still remain with today's Astros, but the scandal has colored the view that many have of Houston to this day. Many feel that with this win, they can perhaps move on in the eyes of baseball fans from those dark days.
Dusty Baker is mobbed by the Houston Astros. Everyone is happiest for him, nobody deserves it more.
Nick Castellanos pokes the first pitch into foul territory in right field. Kyle Tucker makes the long run and gets there in time to make the catch. The Astros win!
Bryce Harper comes to the plate and pops the first pitch to left field. Yordan Álvarez gets under it and makes the catch. The Astros are one out away from winning it all.
JT Realmuto now lines one into center field for a single and we have a man on first. Still life left in the Phillies yet.
Hoskins pops one out to right field and Kyle Tucker makes the catch. One down in the ninth.
Rhys Hoskins comes to the plate and Pressly jumps out in front of the count 1-2.
The pitch com system has failed and now they need to get a new one out onto the field.
Top 9
The Phillies have just three outs of life left in their season. They will have the thick end of their batting order at the plate, so it really is best-on-best.
The Astros will send out their closer par excellence Ryan Pressly to slam the door shut. He has had two saves in a row, including a five-out showing in Game 5.
He chases a low sinker and pops it out to Schwarber, who puts it away to end the inning.
The call is overturned. Bregman is out and Kyle Tucker will come to the plate with two outs.
Alex Bregman hacks one into left and stretches it into a double. He is called safe and Philly challenges it. It is inch-perfect and they may have a point here.
Álvarez goes down swinging on a curve ball down and in. One away.
Bottom 8
David Robertson takes over for the Phillies, trying to give them some kind of chance in the ninth. He faces Yordan Álvarez to get things going.
Top of the order now and Kyle Schwarber gets behind in the count. He tries to bunt with two strikes and pops it foul for strike three! What a way to end the inning.
Brandon Marsh comes to the plate and hits a long ball to right field. Tucker camps out under it and that is two down.
Top 8
The Astros send out Bryan Abreu to try and shut the Phillies down in the eighth. Bryson Stott leads off and lines one to Bregman at third. Great catch for the out.
Jeremy Peña goes down swinging on three straight to end the inning.
Jose Altuve gets his first base hit of the night, slapping one into left field for a double. For the second time tonight, Kyle Schwarber mishandled the ball, and it looks like Altuve may have tweaked something as he rounded first. Dusty looks concerned but leaves Altuve on the bag.
Martín Maldonado steps up to the plate and hits a long fly ball to Kyle Schwarber in left field for out number two.
Bottom 7
Zach Eflin comes in for Philly now and gets Chas McCormick swinging on three pitches for the first out.
Jean Segura went down on three straight pitches. The third was a check swing that he couldn't get back on a splitter in the dirt. Neris is pumped, getting his old team out in order. We go to the bottom of seven, the Astros leading 4-1
Alec Bohm stands in now. He's 1-for-2 on the night, having singled in the second. He gets three fastballs and goes down swinging. Two away.
He pops the 1-2 pitch up behind second base. Altuve calls for it and puts it away. One down.
Top 7
Dusty Baker brings on Héctor Neris to start the seventh and he will get going against Nick Castellanos.
Trey Mancini comes to the plate and grounds one to short, Sosa making the grab and throw to first to end the inning. But the damage is already done, and the Astros are nine outs from a World Series championship. The Phillies led briefly, but now find themselves trailing 4-1 at the end of six.
With so much of the playffs spent looking for something, anything out of that DH spot, they finally stumbled onto the formula. By Gurriel getting injured, it meant that Mancini became the first baseman, freeing up Vazquez to hit.
Vazquez rips one into left field, Bregman rounds third. Schwarber drops the ball. The run scores and Vazquez pays dividends with a single. Astros now up 4-1
Christian Vazquez will face the Phillies ace and try to keep this rally going.
New pitcher: Phillies
Seranthony Dominguez now comes in for Philly to try and stop the hemmhorage here in the sixth.
Here is Kyle Schwarber's blast to briefly put the Phillies up. In the time it took me to find this tweet so that I could put it in the feed for you, the tables were turned by Houston.
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Tucker runs the count full and the payoff pitch gets blown past him for strike three. Two down and that will be it for José Alvarado.
Here is a look at that booming home run.
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Alvarado puts one in the dirt that gets past Realmuto. Bregman moves up to second on the wild pitch.
Realmuto goes out to the mound to settle his pitcher down. The move to take Wheeler out will be questioned for a long time to come. He had dominated the game and was on 70 pitches. Alvarado is falling apart at the seams.
Alvarado is a mess but he has to face a minimum of three batters. Kyle Tucker comes to the plate.
The count runs full and Alvarado misses with ball four.
Alex Bregman has had a tough day so far as well. No success against Wheeler, he will face Alvarado now.
He took that one to straighaway center, 450 feet. What a blast.
It was middle-middle. Pretty much center cut.
Álvarez home run
Álvarez hits .310 and has 10 home runs against lefties this season. He takes a couple and then gets every inch of a fastball down the middle. What a monster shot! The Astros jump out front 3-1
New pitcher: Phillies
José Alvarado will try and get the Phillies out of danger here in the sixth. He comes in protecting a one-run lead, facing Yordan Álvarez.
Rob Thomson makes the trip to the mound and that will be it for Zack Wheeler. What an outing he has had. He was completely unhittable for five innings and now the Phillies will bring on Alvarado to work his way out of a tight spot.
Jeremy Peña comes to the plate and jams one up the middle. Altuve blazes around second and makes third base. Runners at the corners now with one out. That fielders choice that traded Maldonado for Altuve was a real upgrade for the Astros on the base paths.
Altuve hits one to Bohm that seems to die in mid-air. He throws it to second for the out but the throw to first is not in time to get the speedy Altuve. One down.
Wheeler has owned Altuve so far, just blowing fastballs past him. He is 0-for-2 tonight.
Bottom 6
Martín Maldonado leads us off and is hit by a pitch. The Phillies challenge the play. He was clearly hit by the pitch, but perhaps they feel that he tried to draw the hit by pitch. It is a foregone conclusion and in fact confirmed by the review. The tying run is on first base for Jose Altuve.
Bryce Harper sends a long foul ball to the right field pole before grounding out for the third out. We head to the bottom of the sixth, finally with a score. The Phillies are up 1-0.
JT Realmuto comes up and grounds out to Bregman, man he is getting a lot of work over there. Two down.
Rhys Hoskins comes to the plate and hits a little dribbler to third, a swinging bunt. Bregman charges it and makes a fabulous throw to get the out at first base. One down.
Schwarber home run
Schwarber gets the first run of the night, smacking a rope to right field. Boy did that thing get out of here in a hurry!
Top 6
Valdez will face Schwarber to start the sixth and he drops in a beautiful curve for strike one.
Chas McCormick gets three straight fastballs and goes down swinging. The fifth inning ends with no score. 0-0 as we head to the sixth.
Trey Mancini comes to the plate and fights off the fastball for a couple of fouls. He is in a bind, ahead of the curve but behind the fast ball. Wheeler comes back with the curve and Mancini is way out in front for strike three.
Christian Vazquez leads off and hacks one to short for the easy put out at first. One down.
Bottom 5
Zack Wheeler comes out to start the fifth, and we are in the middle of a pitcher's duel here in Houston. Neither side seems able to do much with the other team's pitcher.
Valdez jumps on top 0-2 and then gives him nothing but junk to swing at. Sosa bites and the inning ends.
Edmundo Sosa comes to the plate, having hit one 365 feet in his first at-bat.
Matt Vierling comes to the plate and gets three balls before his first strike. He gets another one at the top of the zone and grounds out to the right side of the infield. Two away.
Top 5
Jean Segura starts things off for the Phillies in the fifth and offers a bunt on the first pitch. He pulls the bat back for a ball.
The next pitch is slapped to second base for the routine out at first. One down.
Kyle Tucker piddles the first pitch to Segura at second base who makes the easy throw to first to retire the side. We head to the fifth still scoreless.
Alex Bregman comes up swinging, and goes back to the dugout the same way. Wheeler attacks him with two fastballs and then comes back with the curve. Two down.
Yordan Álvarez comes to the plate and pops one straight up. Sosa gets under it and takes the catch. One away.
Bottom 4
Jeremy Peña will lead off the fourth and swings at the first pitch. He slaps it straight back up the middle for a single. He has now hit in every World Series game.
Broken bat
If you can dodge a bat, you can dodge a ball
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Alec Bohm comes up and flies to right field. Kyle Tucker is there and puts it away to end the inning.
And now Valdez holds the World Series franchise record all by himself.
After missing a few strikes that were called balls, Valdez gets a break on this one, which appeared to miss by about a ball's width to the inside.
Valdez buries a couple of curve balls, running the count full, before coming back with a fastball for a called strike three.
Nick Castellanos gets himself into a hole 0-2
With that strike out, Valdez has notched up 15 Ks in this World Series, tying the Astros record set by Gerrit Cole.
Valdez gets the count in his favor and misses with a couple of curve balls before coming inside with a 97mph fastball. Harper hacks at it but misses for strike three.
Top 4
Bryce Harper will lead off here in the fourth against Framber Valdez. He is 0-for-1.
He hacks at a nasty fastball, 98 mph with a lot of movement, but about a foot inside. Comes up with nothing but air for strike three to end the inning. We go to four still looking for a score.
Two down now, but the Astros have a man in scoring position for Jose Altuve.
Martín Maldonado comes up and hits a nubber to third. Bohm is playing deep and charges the ball. Too late for McCormick at second, Bohm makes the throw to first and gets Maldonado by less than half a step. As slow as Maldonado is, that was a bang-bang play.
After dodging the barrel of the bat to get the ball, Segura had to dodge the bat at second as well.
The count runs full and a fastball breaks the bat. The barrel and ball both fly at the mound, Wheeler grabs the ball and throws it to Jean Segura at second for the out. The throw to first is not in time for the double play. Wow! There was so much going on there.
Chas McCormick gomes up to the plate with a man on base and nobody out. It is unusual for the Astros to get a base runner with less than two outs, so they will want to make the most of this one.
Fighting off some strong fastballs, the count is 2-2 and Mancini takes a 99mph fastball inside-out for a single to right.
Gurriel's bat is a loss that the Astros can ill afford, so Mancini has some big shoes to fill.
Bottom 3
Trey Mancini will lead off the Astros half of the third. He has spent the post season splitting time at the DH spot, and not doing much with it, but has been tapped for first base tonight with Yuli Gurriel's injury that he sustained in Game 5.
The count works to 2-2 and Valdez throws a big looping curve that Realmuto offers at and comes up wanting. We go to the bottom of the third, it is nothing doing for either team.
JT Realmuto comes to the plate with two down. He was hit by a curve ball in his first appearance. Framber is obviously frustrated with how things are going and walks around the mound to clear his mind.
Valdez comes back with a curve ball that jelly-legs Hoskins for a called strike three. That was a dandy of a pitch!
Rhys Hoskins swung at the first pitch last time up, but shows considerable patience this time. He works the count full and hits a foul ball to third that gives Bregman trouble, but man was it close. It missed being fair by an inch!
He was fortunate with a non-call in the first inning, Valdez seemed to let that get to him. This time, he throws three straight fast balls, the last for a called strike three. It looked as if Schwarber was thinking breaking ball and was just caught on the back foot by the pitch selection.
Top 3
The top of the Phillies order comes around and Kyle Schwarber will lead us off in the third.
He chops one to Sosa at short and he turns the 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. End of two, still scoreless in Houston.
This is the first time that Wheeler has had to work from the stretch tonight. We will see how that affects his delivery. Christian Vazquez comes to the plate in the DH spot.
The payoff delivery misses low and inside to walk Tucker.
Tucker yanks one down the right field line drifting foul. It was hit on the screws but just too early on the swing. The 2-2 delivery misses outside to run the count full.
Wheeler is throwing blazing heat, every pitch is at the 98-99 mph range. For a fastball/slider pitcher, he really has his stuff working today.
Kyle Tucker comes to the plate and tries to lay down a bunt. He fouls it off behind the plate. It was a good idea with third base playing back, but he will now need to try a different tack.
Bregman slaps one to shortstop, fielded by Sosa and the throw is in time for out number one.
Bottom 2
Zack Wheeler comes out to face Alex Bregman to leadoff.
Edmundo Sosa hits a blast to left center field. Álvarez going back, back, back and makes the catch with his back against the wall, just by the 366 sign!
What a ride! We head to the bottom of two, still scoreless.
Another borderline pitch that goes Philly's way and Vierling gets the pass to first base.
Valdez paints the bottom of the zone but doesn't get the call. He is looking visibly frustrated by that. It is the third or fourth such pitch that he has not gotten the call and Maldonado comes out to have a chat with him.
Matt Vierling comes to the plate. He is part of the righty/lefty order shift that the Phillies have been using this post season. He hits against left handed pitchers.
Now a big looping curve catches the top edge of the zone for a called strike three. Two down.
He buries a curve ball in the dirt, but it doesn't look as sharp as it normally does.
Valdez has been trying to feel out the Phillies here, throwing more fastballs than you might expect him to. He gets ahead in the count 1-2 and delivers two fastballs in a row, which Segura fouls off.
Jean Segura will try and make that baserunner count for something now.
Alec Bohm comes to the plate and knocks the first pitch back up the middle for a one out single.
Just showing that you can never second-guess these guys, he puts a 97 mph fastball right at the bottom of the strike zone for a called strike three.
Valdez jumps out to a 1-2 lead and will not be likely to show anything near the plate to Castellanos.
Top 2
Nick Castellanos will lead off for the Phillies in the second.
Yordan Álvarez is aggressive, swinging at the first pitch, flying one out to left center. Schwarber camps out under it and makes the catch to end the inning. Seven pitches for Wheeler and the side is retired.
Jeremy Peña hacks one to shortstop, fielded by Sosa who makes the throw to first to get the second out.
Jose Altuve comes out swinging, as is his custom, but Wheeler blows it past him. Three straight fastballs and Altuve sits down, one out.
Bottom 1
Zack Wheeler has had an outstanding season, but his last outing in Game 2 was not indicative of it. The Astros will be looking to repeat their success against him. His first pitch is 99 mph, indicatign that the arm fatigue that he was feeling is not an issue tonight.
Bryce Harper comes up and hits the first pitch to second base, a good diving catch nabs it and the play at first gets the Astros out of the inning. No score, we head to the bottom of the first.
The 2-2 delivery is a back-foot curve that actually clipped Realmuto in the foot on the way in. A walk and now a hit batter for Valdez in the first inning. He will need to settle down and find his groove.
The Phillies Gold Glove catcher has had a hot bat over the course of the series and they will need him to keep that going for them tonight.
Rhys Hoskins comes up first pitch swinging and chops one to Bregman, who turns the 5-4-3 double play. No blood, no foul. Two down for JT Realmuto.
Two more balls and Schwarber is awarded first base. Boy did the Phillies get a break there. He was out on strikes, he knew it, we knew it, everyone knew it except for the umpire.
Schwarber gets into a hole 1-2 and had a perfect fastball called a ball. Schwarber thought that he was rung up and started to walk. The ump Lance Barksdale called it a ball and he got new life.
If the Phillies want to get to a Game 7, they will have to solve the problem that is Framber Valdez. A breaking ball specialist, he will throw a sinker or curve 3/4 of the time. His fastball is usually a 2-seamer, though he has a good 4-seam and change up that he might sneak in there.
Top 1
Both teams are ready, Framber is on the bump, Schwarber steps to the plate and we are off!
Ceremonial First Pitch
Sometimes-controversial local hero and Astros superfan Jim 'Mattress Mack' McIngvale will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Rising to a national profile after making several enormous bets, including the largest-ever on last year’s Astros World Series loss, Mattress Mack stands to take the largest haul in sports betting history if the Astros can win. His $10 million stake can return a whopping $75 million.
Multi-platinum singer/songwriter Andy Grammer will sing the national anthem before another Houston legend joins the show. George Strait is perhaps second only to Willie Nelson in the Texas music hierarchy, and has been thrilling Houston crowds, particularly at RodeoHouston, for almost forty years. And for Game 6, he will be giving the call to “play ball”.
Interesting Game 6 facts, courtesy of MLB.com
In postseason series with the current 2-3-2 format that have been tied 2-2, teams winning Game 5 on the road before going back home for Games 6 and 7 have finished off the series win 19 of 24 times (79%).
In this case, the Phillies would be looking to join this list:
Won best-of-7 World Series by winning Games 6-7 on the road
- 2019 Nationals at Astros
- 2016 Cubs at Indians
- 1979 Pirates at Orioles
- 1968 Tigers at Cardinals
- 1958 Yankees at Braves
- 1952 Yankees at Dodgers
- 1934 Cardinals at Tigers
- 1926 Cardinals at Yankees
Home Field (dis)Advantage
The home field advantage has been nowhere to be seen this year, with the Phillies taking one of the two Houston games before Houston returned the favor, taking two of the three in Philadelphia.
But it is not only this season that is unusual. Last year, the Braves won the title here in Minute Maid, and Houston had to watch the Nationals do the same to them in 2019. In fact, no team has clinched the World Series at home in nearly a decade, since the 2013 Boston Red Sox.
Lineups
Phillies
Kyle Schwarber, LF
Rhys Hoskins, 1B
J.T. Realmuto, C
Bryce Harper, DH
Nick Castellanos, RF
Alec Bohm, 3B
Jean Segura, 2B
Matt Vierling, CF
Edmundo Sosa, SS
Astros
Jose Altuve, 2B
Jeremy Peña, SS
Yordan Alvarez, LF
Alex Bregman, 3B
Kyle Tucker, RF
Christian Vazquez, DH
Trey Mancini, 1B
Chas McCormick, CF
Martín Maldonado, C
The Phillies will go back to the lineup that saw them win Game 3, bringing in Matt Vierling and Edmundo Sosa to go to work against the left-handed Valdez. They have rotated this righty/lefty lineup throughout the playoffs and it has worked for them so far, so as they say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
The Astros may have inadvertently hit on their latest lineup through Yuli Gurriel’s injury in Game 5. After straining his right knee in a rundown, he was replaced on the roster by Kory Lee, with Trey Mancini getting the start at first base. This opened up the problematic DH slot and Dusty Baker has chosen to fill it with Christian Vazquez.
Gurriel was reportedly visibly shaken when told that he would not be on the roster tonight, and with his entering free agency at the end of the season, the solid first baseman may have played his last game in an Astros uniform.
Starting Pitchers
Phillies
RHP Zack Wheeler
2.82 ERA
153.0 IP
163 SO
1.04 WHIP
Astros
LHP Framber Valdez
2.82 ERA
201.1 IP
194 SO
1.16 WHIP
The mound will be the domain of Zack Wheeler for Philadelphia tonight. He struggled in Game 2, where he allowed five runs in five innings. Reported to be experiencing “arm fatigue,” Wheeler has had a full six days of rest and threw a bullpen session in Philly during Game 5 where he reported that he felt good.
The Astros will hand the ball over to Framber Valdez, who was Wheeler’s counterpart in Game 2 as well. Unlike his struggling opponent, however, Valdez had a steaming hot outing, allowing only one run on four hits and three walks while striking out nine in 6.1 innings. He has started three playoff games this season and notched up the win in all of them.
The Phillies have had an unlikely Cinderella-story season, and are by no means out of the running. A poor 22-29 start that led to manager Joe Girardi being let go back in June, with bench coach Rob Thomson made interim manager. They won 14 of their next 16 games and turned their season around.
Battling their way through the division, they were the last team to clinch the Wild Card spot, having to slug their way through every other team to get here. And they did. They proved time and again that they belong in this series, coming back from a five-run deficit on the road in Game 1, teeing off in a facsimile of a home run derby in Game 3.
No enemy is a small one, all are deadly. The Astros underestimate the Phillies at their peril.
In a World Series that has seen the pendulum swing violently one way, then the other, the Houston Astros managed to get two wins in a row on the road to go 3-2 up in the series. They come home needing only one win to secure their place in history, a cathartic and perhaps self-validating event for this team.
Finding their 2017 title dismissed by a large number of fans due to the sign-stealing scandal which was brought to light two seasons later, this Astros team has found themselves on the defense, with no amount of protesting seeming to matter. The fact that the players, managers, and club have all been punished, and the Astros weren’t the only team involved in this type of behavior; the concept was adapted by Houston from similar actions that both the Yankees and Red Sox were taking at the time; none of that matters to the fans who have decided that Houston is simply dirty.
A win this season would go a long way toward putting that spectre to bed. But to get to that promised land, they must first get through the Philadelphia Phillies.
Good evening and welcome to Diario AS USA’s live commentary stream of Game 6 of the 2022 World Series.