Astros 4,
Phillies 1
World Series Game 6 - Saturday Night, November 5th in Houston
Astros win series, 4-2
One Sentence Summary: For the third consecutive game, the Phillies offense was almost completely quiet and a three-run home run off the bat of Yordan Alvarez in the sixth proved to be the back-breaker in this 4-1 loss to the Astros.
What It Means: It's Saturday night for a few more minutes and I'm going to power through this game summary post. I'm sure in time I'll appreciate the October/early November run the 2022 Phillies just gave us way more than I do right now, but I'm still reeling from the little mistakes and missed opportunities that ultimately sunk the team after they held what appeared to be a commanding 2-1 advantage in the World Series. There were too many strikeouts, too many runners left on base, too many defensive miscues and one huge questionable decision by manager Rob Thomson to bring in Jose Alvarado in this game with Zack Wheeler seemingly cruising.
Still, there's no way I ever imagined I'd be typing up a World Series Game 6 summary back in late May when the team was 22-29, costing Joe Girardi his job. There's no way I could have predicted back in late June after the Phils lost Bryce Harper with a broken hand that I'd take my family to an NLDS game and watch Rhys Hoskins spike his bat following a dramatic home run. And I certainly didn't foresee Harper going nuclear in the NLCS and delivering a World Series berth following a game-winning home run against the Padres.
I described losses back in September with words and phrases such as "'Pen implodes," "Phils fall again," "Phils still flat," and "Collapse seems imminent." And then a little over a month later, I got to take my family to World Series games, temporarily losing my hearing following a Game 3 home run barrage. I will remember some of these moments forever - the ninth inning comeback in the Wild Card series against the Cardinals, the clinching game of the NLDS against the Braves, buying postseason merchandise for every series, Doug devouring his standard Bull's BBQ order every night we went, Ben proudly waving his red rally towel, my whole family together, cheering the Phillies, and the five home runs on Tuesday night. I wanted two more wins, and I wanted a few more memories, but the wins we did get and the memories I made will have to be enough for now.
What Happened / Featured Card: Wheeler and Astros' starting pitcher Framber Valdez were locked in a pitcher's duel through the first five frames, putting zeroes on the board each half-inning. In the top of the sixth, Kyle Schwarber drilled a lead-off, line drive home run to right field to give the Phillies a slim 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, needing just 12 more outs to send the series to a Game 7, Wheeler hit Martin Maldonado with a pitch, with Maldonado clearly leaning over the plate. Jose Altuve grounded into a fielder's choice, and Jeremy Pena followed with a single to put runners on the corners with one out.
With just 70 pitches thrown and seemingly in a groove, Wheeler was removed by manager Thomson in favor of Alvarado. The decision immediately backfired when Alvarez hit his three-run home run, an absolute bomb over the center field batter's eye, to give the Astros a 3-1 lead. Another Astros run would score, but honestly it didn't really matter. Save a ninth inning single from J.T. Realmuto, the Phillies went down quietly over the final three innings, with Nick Castellanos popping out in foul territory to right fielder Kyle Tucker to end the game, and the Phillies' season.