Phillies pushed to brink of elimination following World Series Game 5 loss

The Phillies had their chances in a 3-2 loss to the Astros, but were just 1-7 with RISP and now head back to Houston where they will face elimination in Game 6.

Astros Beat Phillies; Astros Lead World Series 3-2

• Winning Pitcher: Justin Verlander (2-0, 5.85)
• Losing Pitcher: Noah Syndergaard (0-1, 3.24)
• Save: Ryan Pressly (5, 0.00)

This one really hurt tonight and unless the Phillies can now win two in a row in Houston will sting for quite some time.

The Phillies had opportunity after opportunity in Game 5 to grab the momentum and take a stranglehold on the series but failed to do so, going just 1-7 with runners in scoring position and stranding 12 men on base. 

Right now, Bryce Harper is the only Phillies hitters that puts any fear into a well executing Astros pitching staff. The 1 through 5  spots of the Phillies offense struggled mightily for the second straight game batting just 2-20. Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins, JT Realmuto, and Nick Castellanos all had their chance to tie the game or put the Phillies ahead late in the game and simply couldn’t come through. 

What is frustrating is that the Astros posted nearly identical numbers in both offensive categories, yet made a handful of defensive plays that ended up pushing them over the top in what was an extremely competitive matchup. 

The Tre Mancini play at first base to end the 8th inning and West Chester, PA native Chas McCormick’s outstanding wall climbing catch up against the right field wall for the second out of the 9th inning, were two crushing moments for anyone rooting for the guys in powder blue. 

Those are simply the razor thin margins when two teams playing extremely well matchup on baseballs biggest stage. Faced with a similar play in the 8th inning, Rhys Hoskins couldn’t handle a ground ball at first base which allowed Jose Altuve to scamper home on what would become the winning run. 

The breaks of the game..

The good news is that now we get to watch the Phillies do what they do best, and that is fight back. In Game 6 they will have their ace starting pitcher on the mound in Zack Wheeler and the opportunity with a win to push the World Series to an iconic Game 7. If this team is truly a team of destiny they will find a way to win two games in Houston to cap off one of the most improbably runs in MLB history. 

Listen, I know everyone out there is disappointed right now, but in my opinion this series is far from over. The City of Philadelphia is nothing like Houston. The Phillies won’t have to face the best crowd in baseball when they travel to the state of Texas to play in perhaps the most embarrassing baseball stadium every built. (Ok, the second worst stadium, Loan Depot Park in Miami will always be the worst.)

…And if we do lose on Saturday night at Orange Juice Park, remember, the Eagles are 8-0 and kicked the Houston Texans ass tonight. 

Up Next for the Phillies

The Phillies will look to avoid being eliminated in World Series Game 6 in Houston on Saturday night with the first pitch scheduled for 8:03 PM EST.

FOX will carry the broadcast of the game.

Zack Wheeler (1-2, 2.67) will take the mound facing off against Framber Valdez (2-0, 1.42)

Jose Altuve opens up Game 5 with a triple off of the center field wall which Brandon Marsh has trouble fielding. Geeze.

Noah Syndergaard gives up an RBI single to Jeremy Peña on the 4th pitch of the game to put the Astros up with nobody out in the 1st inning.

1-0 Astros

Syndergaard strikes out Yordan Alvarez and JT makes it a double play with a ridiculous throw to get Peña at second base. Wow, what a huge double play on what could have been a big inning for the Astros.

Syndergaard gets Alex Bregman swinging for the final out of the 1st inning. Whew!

Kyle Schwarber hits his 5th home run of the postseason and instantly changes the early momentum that the Astros had built.

1-1 Phils

Noah Syndergaard gets Hensley swinging for the final out of the 2nd inning.

Justin Verlander gets Rhys Hoskins swinging in a huge spot with the bases loaded in the 2nd inning. Damn..

Jeremy Peña just gets a Noah Syndergaard hanging curveball out over the left field fence to put the Astros back on top in the 4th inning.

2-1 Astros

Connor Brogdon strikes out three batters in a row including Yulli Gurriel for the final out of the 4th inning in relief of Syndergaard.

Connor Brogdon strikes out Martin Maldonado for the final out of the 5th inning to complete his second scoreless inning of relief. Wow who is this Connor Brogdon guy?!

Bryce Harper rips a 2-out double down the right field line off Justin Verlander in the 5th inning. Lets go!

Jose Alvarado gets Kyle Tucker swinging for the final out of the 6th inning.

After reaching base on a lead off double and advancing to third base on a wild pitch, Gurriel gets caught in a run down attempting to take home. Great defensive work by the Phillies there!

Rhys Hoskins gets the out at first but fails to cleanly field the ground ball and cant make a throw to home where Jose Altuve scores a huge insurance run for Houston.

3-1 Astros

David Robertson gets Tre Mancini swinging to get out of a jam in the 8th inning.

Jean Segura comes through in the clutch with RBI single in the 8th inning to cut the Astros lead to just one run! Lets gooooo!

3-2 Astros

Houston closer Ryan Pressley enters the game with the tying run at third base and escapes the jam by getting Brandon Marsh swinging and Kyle Schwarber to ground out to Tre Mancini on a nice defensive play at first. Damn.

Alec Bohm makes a fantastic defensive play getting the out at third base and then making an incredible throw to first for the inning ending double play.

West Chester, PA native and Henderson High School grad, Chas McCormick robs JT Realmuto of at least a double and possible a triple with a fantastic defensive play while climbing the right field fence. Wow, that was a robbery!

After Bryce Harper reached base after being hit by a pitch, Nick Castellanos ground out to shortstop for the final out of World Series Game 5.

ASTROS WIN GAME 5

Mandatory Photo Credit: Houston Astros