The Houston Astros won their second World Series in franchise history, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in Game 6 and ending the NL club’s Cinderella run.
It’s the first title for manager and future Hall of Famer Dusty Baker, who is no longer the all-time winningest skipper without a championship. At 73 years old, he’s also the oldest manager to lead his team to a World Series victory.
The Astros outscored the Phillies 22-18 over the series, winning the final three games. Philadelphia out-homered Houston 8-5, making the Astros the first club since the 2015 Kansas City Royals to win the World Series despite hitting fewer home runs than the opponents.
They also join the 2015 Royals as one of five teams to win a championship after losing in the World Series the year prior. The three other teams to pull off the feat were the 1989 Oakland Athletics, 1977 New York Yankees, and 1970 Baltimore Orioles.
Houston is the first team to clinch the championship on home field in nearly a decade. The Boston Red Sox won the 2013 World Series at Fenway Park, also in Game 6.
Saturday capped a dominant run for the Astros, who finished the postseason 11-2 after sweeping their ALDS and ALCS matchups against the Seattle Mariners and Yankees, respectively.
Rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena earned World Series MVP honors after going 10-for-25 with two doubles and one homer. He’s the first rookie position player to win the award.
Left-hander Framber Valdez earned the Game 6 win, almost entirely quieting the Phillies bats, allowing two hits – including a Kyle Schwarber homer – while striking out nine over six innings.
Zack Wheeler was hit with the loss after allowing two runs on three hits while striking out five over 5 1/3 innings. Immediately after Wheeler was removed with two runners on, Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez hit a go-ahead three-run dinger off Jose Alvarado.
The Astros’ pitching staff held the Phillies to a paltry .163 batting average, which is the lowest of any team in a World Series of six games or more, worse than the 1911 New York Giants (.175). Philadelphia also struck out a record 71 times.
Houston has entered dynasty territory, having also won the 2017 Fall Classic. There’s been plenty of turnover since that controversial title run, though, with Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel, Justin Verlander, and Lance McCullers Jr. being the only remaining players.
