Astros sweep Yankees in ALCS, advance to World Series again
NEW YORK (AP) — Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman delivered big hits and the Houston Astros advanced to the World Series again, finishing a four-game sweep of New York in the AL Championship Series with a 6-5 victory aided by another defensive gaffe from the Yankees. Taking advantage of a costly error by second baseman Gleyber Torres to produce the go-ahead rally in the seventh inning, the Astros won their second consecutive pennant and fourth in six years. Rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña hit a three-run homer off ailing Yankees starter Nestor Cortes to help the AL West champions overcome an early 3-0 deficit. Houston will open the World Series at home Friday night against Bryce Harper and the wild-card Philadelphia Phillies, who beat San Diego earlier in the day to close out the NLCS.
Harper’s HR powers Phillies past Padres, into World Series
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper slugged his fifth homer of the postseason, a two-run blast in the eighth inning that turned Citizens Bank Park into a madhouse, and the $330 million slugger powered the Philadelphia Phillies past the San Diego Padres 4-3 on Sunday and into the World Series for the first the time since 2009. Rhys Hoskins also hit a two-run homer to spark Philadelphia’s improbable run to the National League pennant and a shot at its first World Series championship since 2008. The wild-card Phillies were the last club into the 12-team playoff field this year after finishing third in the NL East.