HOUSTON (AP) — Framber Valdez made a five-run lead stand up after Houston’s lightning first-inning burst, Alex Bregman homered and the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 to tie the World Series at one game apiece. Just like in Game 1, the Astros rushed to a 5-0 lead. Unlike ace Justin Verlander in the opener, Valdez and Houston held on. Valdez rebounded from a pair of poor outings in last year’s Series to pitch shutout ball into the seventh, and the bullpen survived a couple of jams to close things out. Jose Altuve, Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez all doubled as Houston took a two-run lead four pitches in against Zack Wheeler. An error allowed another run in the first and Bregman added a two-run homer in the fifth.
Schwarber’s 2 big swings go 756 feet, get Phillies nothing
HOUSTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber had big swings on consecutive pitches for the Philadelphia Phillies when they needed a comeback in Game 2 of the World Series. But two drives that totaled 756 feet in the eighth inning didn’t result in a much-needed home run. The Phillies go home even in the World Series after their 5-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Saturday night. The first ball off Schwarber’s bat was ruled foul after a replay review — the slugger had already trotted around the bases. When Schwarber got back in the box, he hit a ball that was caught at the right-field wall.