Final thoughts
The Houston Astros did what they needed to do in Game 2: they evened up the series 1-1 and avoided falling into a 2-0 hole against a Philadelphia Phillies team that doesn’t give up. Now, they just have to find a way to win on the road against a Phillies team that has yet to lose a home game this postseason. Game 1, of course, is also on Halloween, so that’s a sign that things will all go smoothly.
Listen, it’s the World Series. These are supposed to be difficult!
We will continue to cover the 2022 World Series here at the Guardian until the last out is recorded. However, this will end today’s live coverage. So I just want to thank everybody who followed along with today’s liveblog, particularly those who contributed along the way. Ciao!
Updated
The Astros tie up the 2022 World Series
The Houston Astros have won Game 2 of the 2022 World Series. That means the series is tied 1-1 and heading back to Philadelphia for Monday’s Game 3.
Astros win Game 2! Phillies 2-5 Astros. Final
Phillies 2-5 Astros, Final
Bryson Stott is up with Marsh on second base, there because of an error on Gurriel. Not that it matters because Stott grounds out to second to end the inning and the game. The Astros have won Game 2 of the 2022 World Series!
Run scoring single! (Phillies) Phillies 2-5 Astros
Phillies 2-5 Astros, top 9th inning
Brandon Marsh is up next, representing the final hope for Philadelphia. He takes a pitch outside. 1-0. Marsh takes a swing and he hits a single that scores Bohm and the Phillies stay alive!
Phillies 1-5 Astros, top 9th inning
Jean Segura is up next. He takes a strike looking and then checks his swing. 1-1. Segura fouls off the next pitch. 1-2. The next pitch? That’s low and away. 2-2. Segura hits a routine flyball. The Phillies are down to their final out of Game 2.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, top 9th inning
Alec Bohm takes a ball, then takes a strike. 1-1. Bohm takes a healthy swing at this offering and he hits a double that thankfully, for Houston, stays in the ballpark.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, top 9th inning
Ryan Pressly is our next pitcher and he’s facing Castellanos. Yes, I’ve been attempting to come up with an Elvis-inspired pun to unleash for his appearances but, you know what, it’s been a long two days. Just create one of your own, maybe incorporate something about “leaving the building.”
Pressly’s first pitch is a strike. 0-1. Castellanos checks his swing at the next pitch, a called ball. 1-1. The next pitch is a called strike, so it doesn’t matter that he checks his swing. 1-2. The next pitch is way outside, clearly an attempt to get the hitter to go on a fishing exhibition. He does not. 2-2. Castellanos fouls the next pitch off. Still 2-2. The next pitch is a wonky changeup that Castellanos can’t hit. Two outs left.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, bottom 8th inning
Gurriel might just be the last Astros hitter we see this game. He takes a ball and then fouls a pitch off. 1-1. He gets rung up on the next pitch. 1-2. He then golfs a pitch to the outfield for the final out of the inning. To the top of the ninth, last call for Philadelphia!
Phillies 1-5 Astros, bottom 8th inning
Kyle Tucker promptly grounds out. Two down. The Astros hitters may have hit the “simulate game until end” button.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, bottom 8th inning
Brad Hand has been handed a bad hand as he will have to keep the Astros off the board in the bottom of the eighth and then hope his team can erase a four-run deficit with just three outs. This would be a bigger comeback than yesterday’s game.
Hand’s first pitch to Bregman is a strike. 0-1. So is the next pitch. 0-2. Bregman fouls the next off. Still 0-2. Meanwhile, Houston closer Ryan Pressly is pitching in the Houston bullpen.
Hand throws a ball to Bregman, who doesn’t offer. 1-2. On 1-2, Bregman fouls one off. 1-2 still. He doesn’t make contact on his next swing, so he strikes out.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, top 8th inning
Can Harper and the Phillies take advantage of the defensive miscue? Well, he takes the first two pitches he sees for balls. 2-0. That’s a quality hitter’s count for a quality hitter. However, Harper cannot connect with his home run cut. 2-1. On the next pitch, he skies one high and to the outfield where the shortstop, playing out of position, manages to corral it in for the final out of the inning.
Had to think that was Philly’s best chance of getting back into this, although they will have at least three more outs to work with.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, top 8th inning
Realmuto hits a grounder that the Houston infield can’t do anything. Stott gets to third base on the play. Realmuto is safe on first. That brings up Bryce Harper with two men on.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, top 8th inning
Hoskins is up next, with Stott still on first. After taking a ball, Hoskins takes a mighty swing and gets nothing. 1-1. On the next pitch, he takes strike two. Houston fans, after the jolt of the two near home runs, feel a bit more invested in getting these remaining outs. They get loud to try to will a strikeout.
This time it works, Hoskins strikes out.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, top 8th inning
So, Schwarber is back in the batter’s box with a 2-2 count. He hits another massive flyball that.. the park just holds. Oh wow, the Phillies might look at that at-bat as a momentum-killer if they go on to lose this World Series. Instead of a two-run home run, it’s just the first out of the inning.
It’s called a foul ball, which is the right call I think. So that is not in fact a two-run home run. Man, it was looking like deja vu for Houston for a second.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, top 8th inning
Sorry for the long delay between updates, that at-bat just took a very long time. Schwarber is up next, with a runner on first and nobody out. He takes a ball. 1-0. He takes another ball. 2-0. I guess being patient with this pitcher is the key. Schwarber decides that he’d rather take a large cut and he comes out empty. 2-1. The next pitch is a great one, Montero paints the corner with another four-seamer that’s just on the black. 2-2. The next ball is hit straight up but foul and out of play. 2-2.
And Schwarber hits a huge home run that’s just fair! It’s a two-run home run… or is it? The umpires might check this.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, top 8th inning
Bryson Stott is now pinch-hitting for Philadelphia. Montero is still on the mound for Houston. He gets Stott to fall into a 0-2 count almost immediately. Stott fouls a pitch off and then takes a ball. 1-2. The next pitch, a 97 mph four-seam fastball is… just on the corner. 2-2. Montero goes for the same pitch and Stott just fouls it off. And he does the same the next time. It’s a seven pitch at-bat already even though he fell behind 0-2.
Make that eight pitches: Stott fouls off yet another offering. Still 2-2. And again. Okay now I’m starting to get into this. Can he stay alive to see pitch eleven? Yes! He fouls this one off as well. Pitch 11! That’s a bit high. Ball three! 3-2. Here comes the 12th pitch of this at-bat. This one is low and Stott has earned himself one doozy of a walk.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, bottom 7th inning
Álvarez is up and he falls behind 0-2. This inning started promising for the Astros but they are down to one strike. The next pitch is a ball, as is the one after that. 2-2. He then swings and misses to end the inning and we’re heading to the eighth.
Phillies 1-5 Astros, bottom 7th inning
Peña is up next. He takes ball one, he swings and misses, he hits one foul. If he takes a strike looking, he has gone through all of the possible at-bat outcomes that don’t result in an out or hit.
Oh wow, Altuve gets caught stealing on the very next pitch. It is, however, a ball. So it’s 2-2 on Peña. He just gets under the next pitch and skies one high. That’s two outs in one at-bat without the benefit of a double play. Efficiency!
Phillies 1-5 Astros, bottom 7th inning
Altuve is starting off the bottom of the seventh. It feels as if even one more run will seal this one for the Astros. Connor Brogdon is pitching for Philadelphia. Brogdon gets the free-swinging Altuve into a 0-2 hole. He reaches to foul the next pitch away to stay alive. Still 0-2. Then he goes well out of the strike zone to just hit a dribbler of a single into right field. How? I still can’t figure it out.
Seventh inning stretch
I try to include a version of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” every seventh inning stretch, as longtime readers know by know.
They will also know that I usually attempt to trick them into listening to Frank Zappa’s not-entirely-respectful version.
Updated
Phillies 1-5 Astros, top 7th inning
The basses empty, Montero is facing a pinch-hitting Nick “Auto” Maton. Maton takes a strike looking. 0-1. The next pitch is outside. 1-1. He swings at the third pitch and he lines out to end the inning. The seventh-inning stretch is upon us!
Sacrifice fly (Phillies) Phillies 1-5 Astros
Phillies 1-5 Astros, top 7th inning
Montero gets Segura to flyout but that will score Castellanos from third. The Phillies are on the board!
My notes tell me that Rafael Montero is coming up here to pitch for Houston. He’ll be facing Jean Segura.
Phillies 0-5 Astros, top 7th inning
Bohm is up with one of Philadelphia’s best scoring chances of the game. Valdez is still on the mound. He takes ball one. 1-0. On 1-0, Bohm grounds out, although it at least moves the runner to third.
And here comes Dusty Baker to remove Valdez, who gets a well-deserved ovation at Minute Maid Park.
Phillies 0-5 Astros, top 7th inning
Valdez faces Castellanos who works a full count, pushing him above the 100 pitch count. Maybe this is his last batter? At 3-2, he hits a double into the outfield and the Phillies have a leadoff baserunner.
Oh wow, Valdez is back out there. Now he’s just showing off.
Phillies 0-5 Astros, bottom 6th inning
Maldonado is up next. He takes a swinging strike. 0-1. The next pitch, that’s another swinging strike. 0-2. The next pitch, Bellatti throws one way outside to see if Maldonado will chase. He will not. 1-2. The next pitch he throws… that will get him to chase. He strikes out to end the inning. To the seventh, where the Phillies desperately need to start to chip away.
Phillies 0-5 Astros, bottom 6th inning
McCormick is up next. He sees a slider for a ball and then a similar pitch for a strike. The next pitch is way, way, way outside. 2-1. McCormick fouls the next pitch off. 2-2. He grounds out to second. Two down.
Phillies 0-5 Astros, bottom 6th inning
Andrew Bellatti is here pitching for the Phillies. Díaz is the hitter for the Astros, who have to be happy to dig into the weaker portion of the Philadelphia bullpen. Not Díaz though, he pops up on the infield in two pitches.
Phillies 0-5 Astros, top 6th inning
And Valdez gets Harper to hit into a double-play on one pitch. That’s probably that for Valdez and you can’t say that he didn’t give Houston his all today.
Phillies 0-5 Astros, top 6th inning
Realmuto has had a flair for the dramatic this postseason. Can he get Philadelphia on the board? He tries on his first swing, but he fouls off Valdez’s sinker. 0-1. He then takes a ball. 1-1. He fouls off the next two pitches. 1-2. Valdez’s next pitch is a high fastball that Realmuto lunges for and can’t hit.
Phillies 0-5 Astros, top 6th inning
Valdez faces Hoskins, who hits a seeing-eye single. That’s two on and nobody out. Is Valdez, at 88 pitches, finally tiring?
Phillies 0-5 Astros, top 6th inning
Valdez thinks he has Schwarber struck out on a 2-2 pitch but instead it’s called a ball. As is the next pitch. Schwarber is on base for a Phillies team that desperately needs baserunners.
Email from David Howell:
An observation…
Did the Astros, presumably aware of the reputation for blown leads in Houston when a championship is on the line, make sure to get theirs in during Game 1 so that the Phillies could have the lead to blow in the series? This team seems to have planned everything else...
This is the kind of thing the Baseball Gods tend to frown upon, so I doubt it. Then again, they were just rewarded for that bogus game-delaying manoeuver the last inning so maybe Houston is beyond good and evil.
Phillies 0-5 Astros, bottom 5th inning
Gurriel grounds out to end the inning, but the Phillies are now in a 5-0 hole and they don’t quite have as many outs to work with as they did after falling into the same hole in Game 1.
Phillies 0-5 Astros, bottom 5th inning
And Wheeler issues a four pitch walk to Kyle Tucker. It does feel like he’s rattled after the home run.
2 Run Home Run! (Astros) Phillies 0-5 Astros
Phillies 0-5 Astros, bottom 5th inning
Okay, back to actual baseball. Wheeler throws two straight balls to Bregman. 2-0. On the very next pitch, he hits a home run! The Astros are up 5-0.
Or maybe that’s just where the Phillies want them?
The call on the field stands and Houston loses a challenge, which they should have kept for a much more important moment in the game.
Okay, the Houston Astros have challenged the out call at second base which is just the most petty possible thing. No wonder people hate this team.
And the umpiring crew gets together, presumably because the game is going at a little too brisk of a pace and it’s time to slow things down.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 5th inning
Álvarez is up and he hits into a fielder’s choice that’s nearly a double-play. This erases Altuve but Álvarez remains at first. Two out in the inning.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 5th inning
Peña is up with Altuve at first. Wheeler is going to have to spend some time focusing on Altuve, who’s always a threat to steal. Wheeler throws a strike to Peña. 0-1. The next pitch, that’s fouled off. 0-2. And Wheeler gets his third strikeout of the game one pitch later.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 5th inning
Wheeler is pitching for Altuve, who gets another hit right away. This time just a single.
We’re halfway through regulation! However, as we learned in Game 1, that doesn’t mean that extra innings won’t be in play.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 5th inning
Now the bases are cleared for the light-hitting Sosa. Valdez falls behind 2-0. The next pitch is right down the middle for the first called strike. 2-1. Sosa fouls that next one off. 2-2. Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” riff plays in the stadium, which gets everybody riled up, trying to cheer on Valdez’s eighth strikeout.
Instead, that’s another pitch outside. 3-2. Sosa swings at the next pitch, fouling it off. 3-2. He sits on the next pitch, but unfortunately for him, that’s strike three.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 5th inning
Matt Vierling is up next. He looks at a ball and then looks at a strike. 1-1. He takes a wild swing at a curveball. 1-2. He then promptly hits into a double-play, just what Houston was looking for there.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 5th inning
Valdez is pitching a gem tonight, stifling the Phillies’ bats. Of course as soon as I write that, Segura hits a leadoff single.
I am voting for whoever is campaigning on ending campaign ads during sporting events.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 4th inning
Maldonado hits a hot shot to third to end the inning. Bohm has to leap to grab it but in the end, an out’s an out. The fourth inning was rather quick.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 4th inning
McCormick is up and he hits a single that actually sneaks through the fielders.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 4th inning
Díaz is up again next and he obliges with the quick out thing, grounding out to short after just two pitches. Again, Philadelphia would love getting some length out of their ace.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 4th inning
Wheeler pitches to Yuli Gurriel who grounds out to short. I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t appreciate these quick outs after yesterday’s endless epic.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 4th inning
Bohm fouls off the first pitch he sees. Then he takes a pitch just inside. It feels like this is a tight strike zone by the home plate umpire. The next pitch? That one is very much a ball by anybody’s standards. 2-1. Bohm swings and misses at the next pitch. 2-2. Valdez gets a called third strike and that will be his seventh k of the day.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 4th inning
And Castellanos, who made a dazzling catch in yesterday’s game, grounds out immediately to third.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 4th inning
Valdez gets Harper to fall behind 0-2, not that there’s any count where Harper isn’t dangerous. He fouls the next two pitches off. Still an 0-2 count. After a pause, Valdez makes Harper his sixth strikeout victim of the game.
Just a note that the song in this constantly replaying WhatsApp commercial is “Can You Get To That?” by Funkadelic and it’s one of the greatest songs ever recorded. Okay, now to the fourth inning.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 3rd inning
Kyle Tucker hits another massive flyball, but this one stays in the park for the third out of the inning. To the fourth!
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 3rd inning
With a runner on first and nobody out, Bregman is up. Bregman swings and misses, according to the umpires, and then takes a ball. 1-1. Then he takes another ball. Wheeler is just missing with the slider here, not a lot but enough for the umpire’s strike zone. Bregman swings and misses on the fourth pitch of the at-bat. 2-2. The next pitch? That almost hits him. 3-2.
And he hits into a double-play! That was not an ideal outcome. There are now two away and nobody on base.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 3rd inning
Wheeler is out there for the start of the third inning. One imagines that Philadelphia is looking for depth from him given the fact that they emptied out the bullpen in order to secure yesterday’s must-win Game 1.
Álvarez is up for Houston and he fouls off the first pitch he sees. He then takes a pitch high. 1-1. The next pitch? Also a little high. 2-1. And the next as well. 3-1. The next pitch… is a called ball although it feels borderline.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 3rd inning
Realmuto is up and he grounds out on the first pitch he sees. The Schwarber single is for naught.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 3rd inning
Runner on first for Hoskins. He takes a strike. 0-1. Hoskins swings away. 0-2. Guessed wrong both times, it seems. 0-2. And he swings for the fences on the next pitch and that’s also not where the ball happens to be. Another Valdez strikeout.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 3rd inning
Schwarber falls behind 0-2 and then takes a curve away. 1-2. He fouls off a fastball, that one is 97 mph and it’s sometimes mindboggling that players can even make contact with some of these pitches. The next pitch is a ball. 2-2. As is the next pitch. 3-2. Schwarber connects and deposits a ball in the outfield that somehow ends up being just a single.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 3rd inning
Valdez is back out, facing Edmundo Sosa. Sosa takes a breaking pitch for a ball. 1-0. Then the next pitch is a called strike. 1-1. And a foul ball. 1-2. Sosa calls time. The next pitch is in the dirt. 2-2. Sosa fouls the next pitch away. 2-2. Another foul: Sosa is playing the “keep the at-bat alive” game. 2-2. Sosa swings and misses. The at-bat is officially dead.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 2nd inning
And Peña lines out to short to end the second inning. Much less drama that go around.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 2nd inning
Altuve, who started off the game with a bang, is already back up there and he just pops out this time around. Still, can’t blame him for keeping up with the aggressive swinging.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 2nd inning
Martin Maldonado is up next. He falls behind 0-2 and then 0-3. That’s a strikeout for the first out of the inning. McCormick is still on first.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 2nd inning
Wheeler is up again, hoping for a better second inning than his first. He faces Chas McCormick who works a full count. The batters are seeing him well. And he takes a walk. Yet another Astros baserunner.
Just posting this as proof that I didn’t hallucinate that particular bit of baseball wisdom. Nope, other people heard it too:
“Giving up a walk there feels worse than a home run because you feel like you’re giving them momentum” — John Smoltz
— Kev (@klew24) October 30, 2022
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 2nd inning
Matt Vierling is up next. I believe he’s making his World Series hitting debut. He fouls off the first pitch he sees and then hits a chopper to the infield and that’ll do it for the Phillies in the second. See, that would have been worse for Houston had Bohm hit a home run. Instead, Philadelphia remains scoreless.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 2nd inning
We get a “walk is worse than a home run” commentary here which is… very bad commentary. A home run equals at least one run while a walk doesn’t necessarily mean that. However, it’s not great that Bohm is on first. Jean Segura is up next and he promptly strikes out looking on three pitches.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 2nd inning
Alec Bohm is up next. He takes a ball and then fouls off the next offering. 1-1. He takes another pitch outside. 2-1. He rips the next one foul and out of play. 2-2. And the next pitch is outside and so is the one after that and that will be a Bohm base-on-balls.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, top 2nd inning
Valdez is back out to pitch, working with a three-run cushion. He has to learn from Justin Verlander’s mistakes yesterday and keep focused. He seems focused here, putting Nick Castellanos into a 0-2 hole and getting him to strike out swinging.
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 1st inning
Aledmys Díaz is up next and Wheeler falls behind him. 2-1. He fouls off a pitch, 2-2. Wheeler can finally end this nightmare inning by getting another strike here. And he does! He gets a swing and miss to finish up the first but his team is already down three runs.
Of course, as we saw yesterday, a lot can happen in a baseball game. Plenty of outs remain.
Run-scoring error! (Astros) Phillies 0-3 Astros
Phillies 0-3 Astros, bottom 1st inning
Yuli Gurriel hits a little grounder that he runs out after a defensive miscue from the Philadelphia infield, they score an error on Sosa at short, Álvarez scores on the play.
Phillies 0-2 Astros, bottom 1st inning
Kyle Tucker is up next, He takes a ball, he’s not first-pitch swinging it seems, He fouls off a pitch and then takes two more balls. 3-1 count. Tucker swings and hits a flyball out. On the play, Álvarez takes third base.
Phillies 0-2 Astros, bottom 1st inning
Alex Bregman grounds out to short. That’s the first out of the inning for Houston. Is Wheeler tipping his pitches?
Run-scoring double! (Astros) Phillies 0-2 Astros
Phillies 0-2 Astros, bottom 1st inning
Okay this is getting silly. Yordan Álvarez hits a double that scores Peña!
Run-scoring double! (Astros) Phillies 0-1 Astros
Phillies 0-1 Astros, bottom 1st inning
Jeremy Peña is next up and he slams a breaking ball into leftfield for a double that scores Altuve! The Astros have a quick lead!
Phillies 0-0 Astros, bottom 1st inning
Zack Wheeler is out to pitch for the Phillies. He will be first facing Jose Altuve, who has been in something of a slump. Oh that will cure that, he slams the first pitch he sees for a leadoff double!
At least for those of us in the UK this game should finish an earlier than expected 😏
— Alison W (♿️⚾☕♀️🏳️🌈🇪🇺🇵🇸🇹🇼👑🏴🍶🌻) (@AlisonW) October 30, 2022
(Clocks go back an hour in an hour or so here for the end of 'summertime')@HunterFelt
I honestly lose all sense of time when covering baseball. Sometimes that’s the positive thing about this sport. Not so much when I’m on deadline.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, top 1st inning
Bryce Harper is up now. Valdez’s first pitch is a sinker called for a ball. 1-0. On the next pitch, he throws a pitch right around the same spot, but this time it’s in the strike zone. 1-1. On the next pitch, Harper grounds it foul for strike two. 1-2. Now the “strike rooting” cheers are properly loud as this is a chance for the Astros to get out of the inning. Harper flies out on the next pitch and that, indeed, will end our first half-inning.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, top 1st inning
Yesterday’s hero J.T. Realmuto takes a strike. 0-1. Then he swings away at another pitch. That’s strike two. 0-2. Realmuto fouls the next pitch off to stay alive. The next pitch is just outside. 1-2 and here come our first boos from the umpires in the stand. The next pitch is also a ball. 2-2. On the next pitch, Valdez throws a curve that Realmuto can’t connect with and that’s the first strikeout victim of the game.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, top 1st inning
Rhys Hoskins is up next. He takes a ball in the dirt and then a strike-looking. The next pitch, Hoskins fouls it off. Valdez is up 1-2 and we get the first “cheering for a strikeout” moment of the game but, since Minute Maid Park is still in the process of filling up, it’s rather muted. Hoskins takes a pitch outside, fouls a ball off and then takes ball three. Full count. The next pitch? That’s outside and Hoskins takes a walk. He will be Philadelphia’s first baserunner.
Phillies 0-0 Astros, top 1st inning
Schwarber gets ahead of the count 2-1 after that first pitch strike. Make that 3-1 after another pitch outside. He swings at the next pitch and grounds out for the game’s first out.
First pitch!
Phillies 0-0 Astros, top 1st inning
Framber Valdez’s first pitch is… a called strike on Kyle Schwarber. We’re officially on our way!
I am absolutely confounded by this montage. Baseball is like painting, I guess? This has been more Jackson Pollock than Rembrandt if that’s true.
In any case, first pitch is on its way.
John Smoltz’s take: the Phillies would rather win tonight and go up 2-0. He’s going on a limb here.
National Anthem
It’s country band Little Big Town with “The Star Spangled Banner.” Hope they remember the lyrics, as yesterday’s singer had a bit of an issue with that.
It’s a solid rendition, 7/10. They don’t stretch out the final few words which is the key to any acceptable anthem performance.
Rob Manfred tells @MadDogUnleashed the ghost runner/extra inning rule will likely stay. ‘The clubs like it,the players like it.And I think overall the fans like it.I think it does bring sort of a focus to the end of the baseball game in a way that has been positively received.’
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 29, 2022
Just in case that yesterday’s extra-inning theatrics would be enough to get MLB to stop using the “ghost runner” during the regular season after games are tied after nine innings… of course they’re not going to change it! This is Rob Manfred’s MLB.
Predictions
Well, here’s my dilemma: I had the Houston Astros in five before the start of the World Series. So, by my math, that means I have to root for Houston to win these next four games. I’ve kind of painted myself into a corner.
Still, it feels like Philadelphia was aiming for a split here so they won’t be devastated while the Astros pretty much can’t afford to go down 0-2. I’m expecting Houston to come out with all guns blazing. Maybe a 7-2 win.
Of course, I was wrong yesterday so don’t go making bets with my predictions in mind. Have a different prediction? Or the same? Feel free to send your thoughts and analysis here, either via email (to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com) or Twitter (to @HunterFelt).
Email from “Another Dan” in Toronto on the talent of one Dan Shulman:
Hunter,
I take pictures for a living – occasionally at MLB games – but no one paints more vivid images of what’s happening on the diamond than ESPN Radio’s Dan Shulman. A sumptuous voice that fills every corner of a listener’s ‘theatre of the mind’.
Turn on the telecast, mute the sound and let Shulman’s exemplary play call almost make the cameras seem redundant.
I will add that it’s never a bad decision to mute John Smoltz.
Labeling Astros manager Dusty Baker as the “co-creator” of the high-five is a bit much from this soft-focus interview. It was actually late teammate Glenn Burke who deserves the lion’s share of the credit. Check the story out.
Trying to decide whether @HunterFelt's reference to a "bullpen dual" was because both bullpens last night did a great job at holding the line, or because his finger slipped off the 'e'.
— Alison W (♿️⚾☕♀️🏳️🌈🇪🇺🇵🇸🇹🇼👑🏴🍶🌻) (@AlisonW) October 29, 2022
Looking for a second Phillies win tonight, but not in extras again.#WorldSeries
Listen, I am re-reading James Joyce’s “Finnegans Wake” so my brain is now operating solely on unconscious puns. I shall try to be more conscious of this going forward. Nobody needs baseball play-by-play that is written entirely in neologisms.
Houston Astros starting lineup
1. Jose Altuve, 2B
2. Jeremy Peña, SS
3. Yordan Álvarez, DH
4. Alex Bregman, 3B
5. Kyle Tucker, RF
6. Yuli Gurriel, 1B
7. Aledmys Díaz, LF
8. Chas McCormick, CF
9. Martín Maldonado, C
Pitcher: Framber Valdez
Philadelphia Phillies starting lineup
1. Kyle Schwarber, LF
2. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
3. J.T. Realmuto, C
4. Bryce Harper, DH
5. Nick Castellanos, RF
6. Alec Bohm, 3B
7. Jean Segura, 2B
8. Matt Vierling, CF
9. Edmundo Sosa, SS
Pitcher: Zack Wheeler
Updated
Where to watch Game 2 of the World Series
As always, we’ll start with the most important detail: where to actually follow tonight’s World Series Game 2. It’s basically the same deal as Game 1.
In the US, it’s live on FOX and also listen on your local ESPN Radio affiliate or, barring that, ESPNradio.com. The start time, again, is 8:03 pm EST. In the UK, you can screen it on BT Sports starting at 1:03 BST and, online, through the BT Sports app. I’m sure there are other ways of going about it but these are the most above-the-board ways to find the game.
Preamble
Well, I can’t be the only one still not recovered from yesterday’s Game 1. The Houston Astros had an early 5-0 lead and Justin Verlander was pitching a gem. It looked like they were going to cruise to an easy Game 1 victory but the Philadelphia Phillies quickly tied it up and then we were treated to a bullpen dual until Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto untied the game in the 10th inning with a solo home run that ended up being the game-winner. The Phillies won 6-5 and guaranteed themselves at least a split here in Minute Maid Park to start the series.
This is how the Phillies got this far. In every series this offseason, their opponents were supposed to easily win. Instead, Philadelphia has acted as the ultimate disrupter, winning games and, to this point, series because they simply don’t think about how big the odds stacked against them are.
Until yesterday, the Astros hadn’t even lost a game in the entire postseason. Now they find themselves having to deal with their first setback at the most inopportune time. So now it’s Houston on the ropes. The superior team on paper, the Astros still can’t afford to fall behind 0-2 in this World Series, especially with the series moving to Philadelphia for Game 3. The Phillies are putting co-ace Zack Wheeler on the mound while the Astros will start All-Star Framber Valdez. Maybe this will be the pitching duel that we didn’t get on Friday.
As always, we’ll be taking your thoughts and comments throughout today’s game. You can email us at hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or tweet us at @HunterFelt and we’ll post them for all to see. It’s Game 2 of the 2022 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Again, we’re scheduled to start at 8:03 pm EST but we’ll be back blogging well before that.
Updated
Prelude
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look back at Philadelphia’s shock win over Houston in Friday night’s Game 1.
