Jared Tofil | Sports Writer
The Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park, in front of 42,958 fans, beat the Bryce Harper lead Philidelphia Phillies 4-1 to take the series and win the World Series for the first time since 2017 when they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in 7 games.
The Phillies could not produce any offense this game, only being able to put up three hits from catcher J.T. Realmuto, third basemen Alec Bohm, and the single score for the team left fielder Kyle Schwarber who hit a solo homer to RF off Astros pitcher Framer Valdez in the 6th inning. The pitching and defense also struggled, with Kyle Schwarber giving up an error in the 7th and pitchers Zach Wheeler and Jose Alvarado each respectfully giving up two runs and combined for 4 of the 7 Astros hits.
The Astros, on the other hand, kept it clean but not that productive until the bottom of the 6th, where they had three hits and scored all 4 of their runs to make the score 4-1 entering the 7th. Shortstop Jeremy Pena had two hits himself in the game, and left fielder Yordan Alverex on his one hit, got 3 RBIs, with Christian Vazquez acquiring the only other RBI. Pitcher Framber Valdez got the win, only allowing two of the 3 Phillies hits and striking out 9 in 6 innings pitched. Ryan Pressly ended up getting the save after coming into relief in the 9th. “I'm just super happy right now and enjoying the moment," said Jose Altuve after the game.
What does this mean for the cheating scandal that's been glooming over this team's head since their first title in 2017? "We don't really care what the fans think," Pressly said after Game 5 in Philadelphia, where the vitriol was almost tangible. "Everywhere we go, we get booed. It's Houston versus y'all." Despite all this hate, the scandal happened a long time ago, and in 2022, it doesn't matter anymore to the players or the coaching staff. You can't deny that the Houston Astros have proved themselves to be a dynasty and a fantastic baseball organization.