The Philadelphia Phillies’ Cinderella run continued Friday night, as they handed the Houston Astros their first loss of the postseason by way of a 6-5 victory. In an instant classic, the Fightin’ Phils fought their way back from a 5-0 deficit in the third inning to steal game one in extra innings.
“I couldn’t even hear myself think,” said Nate Mazurek, junior communications major. “All I could do was celebrate and watch everything unfold.”
J.T Realmuto had a career day, with three crucial RBIs, including a game-winning home run in the top of the 10th inning.
This game one victory sets the Phillies up for a three-game homestand, with a chance to secure a World Series at Citizens Bank Park for the first time since 2008.
A tough start
The Astros started the series with a Kyle Tucker home run in the second inning. This sparked the first of five unanswered RBIs, giving the AL champions a 5-0 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Astros were in a familiar spot, as the 100-win team boasted a 56-26 record at Houston’s Minute Maid park. In an unprecedented six-year run, the Astros are playing in their fourth Series. The 2017 champions hadn’t lost a game this postseason.
Battling back
It didn’t take long for the Phillies to show off the resilience that got them to the Series.
Right fielder Nick Castellanos’ fourth inning single to left field brought home first baseman Rhys Hoskins to get the Phillies on the board, and they did not look back.
A two-RBI double from Bohm earned two more runs. In the fifth, J.T. Realmuto hit a double into left field, which brought in two more runs. Heading into the sixth, the game was knotted up at five a piece.
In the Philadelphia borough of Conshohocken, Cabrini students watched anxiously as the game stayed tied in the bottom of the ninth. Nick Castellanos came up big once again, sliding in for a game-saving catch that gave the Phillies life going into extra innings.
With no outs in the top of the 10th, Realmuto launched a deep fly ball over the head of Astro’s right fielder Kyle Tucker for the lead, sending Cabrini students watching at home into a frenzy.
With their first lead of the night, they entered the bottom of the 10th with an opportunity to seal the victory. The Astros would not go down without a fight.
With two outs and a runner on third, a routine ground ball could not have appeared harder as Alec Bohm rifled the ball to first in the nick of time to secure a game one victory.
Coming back home
The improbable comeback was complete and left the baseball world stunned heading into game two.
The Astros came out firing once again in game two, as this time a 5-0 lead was insurmountable for the Phillies. Another late comeback fell short, as the Phillies left Houston with the series tied.
Setting the stage for game three, the city of Philadelphia is eager to welcome back the red pinstripes to Citizens Bank Park for three final home games in this historic 2022 campaign.
“I didn’t expect them to win any games in Houston,” said Michael Fioravante, sophomore business management major. “Now the Astros are in trouble because we don’t lose in Philly.”
The Phillies had a winning record at home during the regular season, but the Astros experience poses a challenge as the red October bleeds into November. Philadelphia and the rest of the sports world eagerly wait to see if the Phillies can pull off the last act in their underdog story.
John Rader contributed to the creation of this article
