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Tag: Alex Bregman

  • Alex Bregman Finds New Home, Signs MEGA Contract

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    For a while, Detroit Tigers fans allowed themselves to dream.

    When word began to circulate that Alex Bregman could be on the move this offseason, many in Motown saw the perfect fit: a proven All-Star third baseman, a postseason veteran, and a right-handed bat who could anchor the middle of the lineup as the Tigers push toward contention.

    But that dream is officially over.

    According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, Bregman is heading to the Chicago Cubs, landing a five-year, $175 million deal that locks him in through the 2030 season. It’s a major addition for Chicago, and a tough pill to swallow for Detroit fans who hoped Scott Harris might land one of the biggest bats on the market.

    Bregman, 31, remains one of the most complete infielders in baseball. A two-time World Series champion, Gold Glove winner, Silver Slugger, and three-time All-Star, he posted a .273 average with 18 home runs, an .821 OPS, and a 128 OPS+ in 2025. His track record of consistency, leadership, and postseason production made him a natural target for a Tigers team looking to take the next step.

    Despite many Tigers fans wanting Bregman to sign with the Tigers, most reports suggested the Tigers were not as interested as they were last season.

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    Don Drysdale

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  • Ohtani is unanimous MVP for 4th time in winning NL honor as Judge edges Raleigh for 3rd AL accolade

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    Shohei Ohtani likes winning Most Valuable Player awards. He loves winning the World Series even more.

    The two-way Japanese star did both for a second season in a row for the Los Angeles Dodgers, earning his fourth career MVP on Thursday night while unanimously earning the National League honor. He’s just the second to win four MVPs after Barry Bonds with seven and the only player to win unanimously more than once.

    Considering Ohtani is 31, overtaking Bonds doesn’t seem out of the question. Especially if it leads to more Fall Classic opportunities.

    “If I’m playing well as an individual that means I’m helping the team win, so in that sense, hopefully I can end up with a couple more MVPs,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about winning games.”

    In the American League, Aaron Judge became the New York Yankees’ fourth three-time winner, edging Seattle’s Cal Raleigh with 17 first-place votes to 13 for the switch-hitting catcher. The vote was the closest for an MVP since the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout topped Houston’s Alex Bregman by 17-13 in 2019.

    Judge, who won the AL award in 2022 and 2024, joined Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle as three-time MVPs with the Yankees. The 33-year-old outfielder led the majors with a .331 batting average and 1.144 OPS while hitting 53 homers.

    When asked about his place in MLB and Yankees lore, Judge acknowledged he’s in rare company.

    “It’s tough for me to wrap my head around,” Judge said. “It’s mind blowing from my side of things, because I play this game to win, I play this game for my teammates, my family, all the fans in New York.”

    Later he added: “You’ve got to pinch yourself every single day. It’s truly an incredible honor.”

    Ohtani won a MVP for the third straight year, his second in the NL with the Dodgers after two in the AL with the Angels. He became the first to win in each league twice after getting the AL honor in 2021 and 2023. Ohtani signed with the crosstown Dodgers the following offseason and won NL MVP in 2024 during his first season in Chavez Ravine. He’s also won the World Series in both his seasons with the Dodgers.

    Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber finished second in the NL with 23 second-place votes and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto was third with four.

    Ohtani hit .282 and led the NL with a 1.014 OPS. He also had 55 homers, 102 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.

    The right-hander returned to pitching in June after missing 1 1/2 seasons on the mound because of an elbow injury. He struck out 62 batters over 47 innings, slowly increasing his workload while preparing for the postseason.

    Ohtani continued to shine in October with arguably the greatest single game in MLB history. He hit three homers while striking out 10 over six dominant innings on Oct. 17, leading the Dodgers over Milwaukee to finish an NL Championship Series sweep.

    Schwarber, who earned a $50,000 bonus for finishing second, hit an NL-best 56 homers and led the big leagues with 132 RBIs for Philadelphia.

    Soto overcame a slow start to the season to have his typically stellar offensive output. The four-time All-Star — who signed a $765 million, 15-year deal last December — had 43 homers, 105 RBIs and an NL-best 38 stolen bases. He received a $150,000 bonus for finishing third in the MVP voting.

    Judge is the first AL player to win back-to-back MVPs since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera it in 2012 and 2013.

    Raleigh, nicknamed “Big Dumper,” led the big leagues with 60 homers, the most for a player primarily a catcher. He started 119 games behind the plate and another 38 at designated hitter.

    The 28-year-old also had a career-high 125 RBIs, leading the Mariners to one of their best seasons in franchise history. Judge said he got to know Raleigh a little during the All-Star break and the catcher asked for some leadership tips.

    “Cal’s a special player,” Judge said. “I could sit here and talk all night about the player he is, but really the kind of leader and person he is really stuck out to me at the All-Star Game.”

    Cleveland’s José Ramírez finished third in the AL.

    Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo was fourth in the NL voting, earning him $2.5 million annual salary increases in 2028 and 2029 along with the price of Arizona’s 2030 club option.

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    AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

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  • Alex Bregman is a Free Agent, Will He Return to Houston

    Alex Bregman is a Free Agent, Will He Return to Houston

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    Perhaps the most important signing (or non-signing) watch of the offseason began Thursday. With the Dodgers beating the Yankees in a yawner of a World Series, baseball is officially over until 2025, which means teams will begin the mad scramble that is hot stove season.

    For the Astros, all eyes are on Alex Bregman. The home grown third baseman is a free agent and should get a massive contract by the Astros or some other team. How much, how long and with whom are questions every Astros fan is wondering right now and no one knows the answer.

    Unlike previous seasons when the Astros allowed George Springer and Carlos Correa to leave via free agency, this is not a team that is still loaded with talent across the board. There is no Jeremy Peña waiting in the wings to take over at third base and no dominant other youngsters who might fill the void in the lineup. For the first time in the “golden era” of Astros baseball, Jim Crane may be forced to doll out the kind of contract he has been loathe to give previously.

    Not only is there not a viable option at third if Bregman leaves (making it more likely they will have to spend money on some high end free agent at that position), but he is rather unique among the Astros veterans. On field, he often acts like another coach, working with pitchers on strategy. He was one of the players who encouraged Yussei Kikuchi to throw specific pitches repeatedly that ended in tremendous success after coming to Houston.

    There is also a point where, as a franchise, you have to find a way to stop the bleeding and keep some of your best players in house. They have done that with Cristian Javier, Jose Altuve and, to a lesser extent, Yordan Alvarez. Altuve, in particular, has been vocal in his belief that Bregman should and will return to a roster that absolutely needs him in the lineup.

    By all accounts, Crane and GM Dana Brown will make a sizable offer to their third baseman. The average annual value (AAV) of the deal will likely be in line with some of the highest paid third basemen in the league. The question is will they offer enough years?

    Matt Chapman, a player who is better defensively and has very similar numbers to Bregman, but doesn’t have the same playoff resumé, got six-year $151 million deal from San Francisco this year. That will be the starting point for negotiations between the Astros and Bregman’s super agent Scott Boras (who also represents Altuve).

    Would, for example, five years, $160 million get it done? That’s $7 million more per season than Chapman, but one fewer year of the deal. If they Astros went to six years, would $180 million be enough to bring Bregman back or could he get more on the open market?

    The truth is, if the Astros give Bregman a fair offer with a high AAV and he still opts to leave for more money or more years (seven or eight seasons?), no one in Astro world (pun intended) should hang their heads. The Astros had the third highest payroll in baseball this year and it was still almost $55 million lower than the Yankees and more than $60 million lower than the Mets.

    By comparison, the A’s spent just over $63 million in total payroll in 2024.

    The Astros and Crane spend money and they will continue to be willing to do so. But there are factors beyond Bregman. A much bigger free agent year awaits them after the 2025 season when Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez (among others) enter free agency. Tucker will be worth more on the open market than Bregman. And none of this takes into account the fact that the Astros really don’t have an every day first baseman on the roster or in the minors.

    Everyone wants Alex Bregman back in an Astros uniform, but if he doesn’t sign in Houston, it won’t be because the Astros were cheap. It will be because the market it ridiculous and even with the third highest payroll in baseball, there are limits to what Jim Crane can spend.

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    Jeff Balke

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  • Astros Clinch AL West with Win Over Mariners

    Astros Clinch AL West with Win Over Mariners

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    There weren’t a ton of hits for the Astros, but the ones they got mattered as three of their six hits were home runs in a tense 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners. More importantly, the win coupled with the Mariners loss clinches the fourth straight AL West title for the Astros with four games remaining in the season.

    It caps one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent history with the Astros trailing the Mariners by double digits early in the season only to come roaring back and capture the division once again capping it off against the team they were once chasing.

    With less than a week of games left, the win now allows a team that is a bit banged up to rest some of their players and set up their rotation for a Wild Card series that will begin next week.

    Like so many things this season, nothing came easy. The Astros led off the first with a homer from Alex Bregman, but the Mariners quickly took the lead 3-1. Two more long balls, one from Kyle Tucker and a two-run shot from Jason Heyward, gave them a lead they would not relinquish.

    Framber Valdez with five-and-two-thirds innings giving up all three runs and did not have his best stuff. But the relief crew including Jose Abreu, Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader shut down the M’s for the win.

    During an on-field postgame interview, an emotional Joe Espada celebrated the division crown in his first year as manager. “What a team,” he said.

    Heyward, who was just added to the team a few weeks ago, belted yet another homer and made a huge play in the outfield. He has been a terrific addition in a year that has needed every single player they could put on the roster.

    It was fitting that not only the Astros clinched versus the Mariners, but Hader got the save after signing a huge deal as closer in the offseason. He had ups and downs throughout the year, but also displayed moments of brilliance like Tuesday night, picking up his thirty-fourth save.

    As the Astros pop the corks in celebration, there is plenty of work left to do. They get a brief respite to rest some players, but the AL is incredibly competitive and the Astros probably won’t know who they will face next week until this weekend.

    For now, they can enjoy a moment that, back in May, very few thought would happen.

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    Jeff Balke

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  • Position Priorities for the Astros at the Trade Deadline

    Position Priorities for the Astros at the Trade Deadline

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    The Major League Baseball trade deadline is less than two weeks away and the Astros have gone rather quickly from possible seller to almost certain buyer on the trade market. Just one game back in the division and facing the team ahead of them in the standings out of the gate, this is a team that believes they can win another division title and go deep in the postseason once again despite all the early season travails.

    GM Dana Brown has said they expect to be buyers at the deadline, which is July 30. But what exactly do they need? This is still a team in pretty good shape overall, but they definitely have weaknesses at several positions they will no doubt hope to address (we’ll get to whether they actually have the prospects to make it happen another time).

    POSITIONS OF ABSOLUTE NEED

    Starting Pitching
    Considering this is a team that only had eight total starting pitchers in 2023, it is absolutely remarkable the lengths they have gone to in an effort to make up for injuries that have decimated their staff. Their IL would make a formidable starting lineup if healthy. Instead, they’ve relied on rookies and pitchers who never started before and still managed to be really good. Adding depth to the rotation, even with the promise of Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia eventually returning, is a must at this point. “You can never have enough pitching” has absolutely been born out this season for the Astros. Their first and primary priority, no doubt, will be another arm for the rotation.

    Now, will they spend big or just look for an innings eater who might also be able to slide into a bullpen role? That’s a good question and one we cannot answer. But whatever the case, they need help here in the worst way.

    HIGH ON THE LIST

    Relief Pitching
    First Base

    The Astros have continued to sign warm bodies to roll into the bullpen throughout the season. It’s been necessary with all the injuries and huge workload for their pitching staff. So, it should come as no surprise they are going to be looking for additional arms for the bullpen…you can never have enough yada yada. The good news is it shouldn’t cost much. They don’t need a closer or even a setup guy. They just need a solid middle-innings reliever to complement guys like Seth Martinez and Tayler Scott — and to mitigate the struggles of Rafael Montero.

    As for first base, Jon Singleton has played extremely well since Jose Abreu was released. He isn’t ideal at that position, but he does provide power and has a very good eye at the plate. At minimum, finding another bat who can backup at first and be credible defensively, would be helpful. But don’t be surprised if they take a big swing at someone like Pete Alonso either.

    WE SHOULD BUT WE WON’T

    Third Base

    No one wants to linger on the fact it is highly unlikely Alex Bregman is an Astro next year. But, more critically, his impending free agency is set to leave a massive hole in the Astros infield, not just because he is so good but because they have literally no one in the minor leagues to replace him. It is one of the most glaring weaknesses in their farm system.

    Not making some kind of move to, at minimum, find a solid backup at the hot corner before the offseason will put a tremendous amount of pressure on the team to spend the money to replace Bregman…or spend the money to re-sign him. Either way, not making a move to do something about third is probably not in the cards even if maybe it should be.

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    Jeff Balke

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  • Four Reasons the Astros Are Bad at Baseball Right Now

    Four Reasons the Astros Are Bad at Baseball Right Now

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    The Astros lost their second of three games to the lowly Washington Nationals on Sunday 6-0 dropping them to 7-16 on this still young season. There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. This is a bad baseball team doing bad baseball things right now. Sure, they could turn it around. The Major League Baseball season can be excruciatingly long.

    But, also, they might not. Five of their best players are playing well including Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Jeremy Peña and Yainer Diaz. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to show for it and when those guys inevitably have a slide — as every good player does during a long season — what the hell do they do then?

    We can point to some reasons they have not been very good. There are many. Here are four.

    Injuries

    This is not an excuse. Period. All teams suffer injuries. But when essentially your entire projected starting lineup is on the IL, that’s a problem few teams (if any) can overcome. They got Justin Verlander back and will get Framber Valdez back in short order, but they now lost Cristian Javier. Where would this team be if Ronel Blanco hadn’t suddenly become an ace starter? We shudder to think.

    click to enlarge

    Josh Hader and his fellow back-of-the-bullpen teammates have blown six saves this season already.

    Photo by Jack Gorman

    The Final Three

    Remember in Spring Training when everyone was all, “Dude, no one is going to score runs on us in the seventh, eighth and ninth. If we get a lead, teams are toast.” Um, OK so that was then. Now, the reality is Bryan Abreu has been the best of the bunch and he has an ERA of 4.91 and a WHIP of 1.818. Yikes. Ryan Pressly, the closer-turned-setup-guy, has an 8.31 ERA with a WHIP of over 2. And the $95 million dollar closer Josh Hader has a baffling 8.38 ERA with a WHIP of 1.655.

    They have blown six saves this season including a brutal two-run lead in the ninth in D.C. by Pressly. The Astros have been super fond of talking about looking at the back of players’ baseball cards to understand how good they will likely be once more of the season has passed, but progression to the mean is hardly guaranteed, and it will take a hell of a turnaround to make these three as feared as everyone hoped and expected.

    Lack of Timely Hitting

    The Astros are 22nd in baseball (.266 BA) with runners in scoring position. They are 28th in runners left on base per game (4.27). That speaks to two things. First, they get a good amount of people on base. They are a remarkable third in both team batting average and OPS (seventh in slugging). We say remarkable because they fact that they rank that highly in hitting categories yet drop to the bottom of the league when it comes to driving runners in is just crazy.

    Second, their clutch hitting is absolutely brutal, the polar opposite of Astros teams in the past despite having many of the same players. There is definitely some luck that plays into this and some problems in the lineup (more on that shortly), but the lack of clutch hitting does not auger well for a team that is struggling to get guys out in the last three innings of the game.

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    Alex Bregman tends to start slow, but this is ridiculous.

    Photo by Jack Gorman

    Giant Gaping Lineup Holes

    When we had Martin Maldonado, we didn’t realize how good we had it. Maldy’s .606 OPS in 2023 may as well have been 1.100 when you consider the just putrid .223 OPS we are getting from Jose Abreu. Right now, Abreu is simply not a major league baseball player, but he’s out there every day because our only option behind his is…Jon Singleton. His numbers are positively Maldonado-y slashing .229/.308/.306 with a .594 OPS. You could almost live with that if you thought he would remain that consistent.

    But, that is before you calculate the lack of hitting from Alex Bregman (.213/.302/.280) and Jake Meyers (.220/.273/.415). Meyers may not play every day — thankfully, that job belongs to Chas McCormick, who is finally starting to see his numbers turn around; and Mauricio Dubon, who is one of the best clutch hitters on the team — but when he does, he is little to no help. Bregman is the most galling. In his free agent year, he looks like he showed up ready to take a discount to remain in Houston. He pops up more often than new taco trucks.

    When you have that many holes in your lineup, it’s tough to string together any kind of crooked-number innings and this team is definitely not doing that.

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    Jeff Balke

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  • Astros burst ahead, beat Phillies 5-2, tie World Series 1-1

    Astros burst ahead, beat Phillies 5-2, tie World Series 1-1

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    HOUSTON — 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 Saturday night 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.

    “Framber did a great job,” said Jose Altuve, who broke out of a 4-for-37 postseason slump with three hits. “Just amazing performance by him and our bullpen, as well.”

    Altuve, Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez all doubled as Houston took a two-run lead four pitches in against Zack Wheeler. A throwing error by shortstop Edmundo Sosa allowed another run in the first, and Bregman added a two-run homer in the fifth.

    A day after coming back for a 6-5 win in 10 innings, Philadelphia tried to rally in this one, too.

    With the Phillies trailing by four runs, Kyle Schwarber hit a drive deep down the right-field line with a man on in the eighth against Rafael Montero that was originally ruled a two-run homer by right field line umpire James Hoye.

    First base umpire Tripp Gibson at first signaled for umps to conference and the call was reversed on a crew chief review when it was determined the ball was just to the foul side of the pole.

    Schwarber, who led the NL with 46 home runs this season and added three more in the playoffs, then hit a long drive that was caught at the right field wall.

    Ryan Pressly finished the combined six-hitter, giving up a run on an error by first baseman Yuli Gurriel on Brandon Marsh’s grounder.

    Following the split in Houston, the Series resumes Monday night when Citizens Bank Park hosts the Series for the first time since 2009.

    Of 61 previous Series tied 1-1, the Game 2 winner went on to the title 31 times — but just four of the last 14.

    After struggling to a 19.29 ERA in a pair of Series starts in last year’s six-game loss to Atlanta, Valdez pitched with polish and poise. His cheeks glistening with sweat, the 28-year-old left-hander struck out nine and walked three, allowing four hits in 6 1/3 innings.

    He blew by batters with a fastball averaging 95.6 mph and baffled them with his curve, which got six of his strikeouts — three of them looking. Unusually, he changed his glove and spikes mid-outing.

    When the Phillies put two runners on for the only time against him in the sixth, Valdez struck out Game 1 star J.T. Realmuto with high heat, then got Bryce Harper to bounce a first-pitch sinker into an inning-ending double play.

    “His sinker was fantastic. His curveball was pretty good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “His putaway pitches were good.”

    Thomson didn’t take issue with Valdez rubbing his palm — social media was abuzz, wondering if there was some substance there.

    “The umpires check these guys after almost every inning and if there’s something going on MLB will take care of it,” Thomson said. “We saw it the last time he started, too.”

    Nick Castellanos led off the Phillies seventh with a double and Valdez left after a groundout advanced the runner. Montero allowed Jean Segura’s sacrifice fly to the left-field warning track.

    A day after the deflating defeat, the Astros came out swinging and became the first team to open a Series game with three straight extra-base hits.

    Altuve lined a sinker into left, and Peña drove a curveball into the left-field corner for a 1-0 lead.

    Alvarez fouled off a pitch and drove a slider high off the 19-foot wall in left.

    “I was pulling for a fourth, actually,” Baker said. “Try to score as many runs as you can. Because you know Wheeler is one of the tougher guys in baseball.”

    Wheeler should have escaped down just 2-0, but shortstop Edmundo Sosa bounced his throw to first on Gurriel’s three-hopper for an error, the ball glancing off the mitt of first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

    Bregman, healthy after two injury-hampered seasons, hit a two-run homer to left in the fifth when Wheeler left a slider over the middle of the plate. Bregman has six career Series homers and three this postseason with nine RBIs.

    Wheeler gave up five runs — four earned — six hits and three walks in five innings, a day after Aaron Nola struggled.

    “I think everybody deserves a poor start every once in a while,” Thomson said. “Those guys have been so good for us for so long, and I fully expect them to come back and be ready to go and pitch well for us.”

    BIG DIFFERENCE

    Houston won 106 games during the season and Philadelphia 87, the second-highest win disparity in the Series behind the 93-win Chicago White Sox beat the 116-win Cubs in 1906.

    UP NEXT

    RHP Noah Syndergaard will start Game 3 for the Phillies and RHP Lance McCullers Jr. for the Astros. Phillies LHP Ranger Suárez will take the mound for Game 4, and likely LHP Cristian Javier for Houston.

    ———

    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Realmuto, Phils rally past Astros in 10 to open World Series

    Realmuto, Phils rally past Astros in 10 to open World Series

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    HOUSTON — A timely swing by J.T. Realmuto propelled the Philadelphia Phillies to an unlikely win in the World Series opener.

    A terrific stab by right fielder Nick Castellanos gave him that shot.

    Realmuto hit a solo home run in the 10th inning and the Phillies, saved by Castellanos’ sliding catch, rallied past the Houston Astros 6-5 Friday night.

    Down 5-0 early against Astros ace Justin Verlander, the Phillies became the first team in 20 years to overcome a five-run deficit to win a World Series game.

    They can thank Castellanos for getting the chance. Known much more for his bat than glove, he rushed in to make a game-saving grab on Jeremy Peña’s blooper with two outs in the ninth inning and a runner on second.

    “All in all, it was a great game, a great come from behind victory, and it just showed the resilience of the club again and how tough they are and they just never quit,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

    Realmuto, who hit a tying, two-run double in the fifth off Verlander, completed the comeback when he led off the 10th by sending a fastball from Luis García into the seats.

    Realmuto hoped for the best as he saw right fielder Kyle Tucker pursuing the ball.

    “Once I saw him running back to the wall, I was thinking in my head, ‘Oh, please just don’t catch it, just don’t catch it.’”

    He didn’t, the ball sailing just beyond his reach.

    Realmuto circled the bases in a scene he dreamed about as a kid.

    “Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean Wiffle Ball games in the backyard, the whole 3-2, bases-loaded, two-out situation. I probably had 7,000 at-bats in that situation growing up,” he said.

    And did he usually deliver?

    “Every time, yes,” Realmuto said, laughing.

    Realmuto became the first catcher to hit an extra-inning home run in the World Series since Carlton Fisk waved his walk-off fair in the 12th inning of Game 6 in the 1975 Series against Cincinnati at Fenway Park.

    Big-hitting Bryce Harper added two singles for the Phillies in his World Series debut. The two-time NL MVP is batting .426 (20 for 47) with five homers this postseason.

    Tucker homered twice for the Astros, who had been 7-0 in this postseason.

    “Disappointing, yeah, for sure,” Verlander said. “I need to do better. No excuses.”

    Houston had a chance in the 10th when Alex Bregman doubled with one out. After Yuli Gurriel drew a two-out walk, David Robertson bounced a wild pitch that put runners on second and third.

    Pinch-hitter Aledmys Díaz was then hit by a 2-0 pitch from David Robertson — but plate umpire James Hoye ruled that Díaz leaned into the pitch and didn’t permit him to go to first to load the bases.

    Díaz grounded out on a 3-1 pitch to end it.

    The last team to blow a 5-0 lead in the World Series was the 2002 San Francisco Giants, who squandered their chance in Game 6 to close out the Angels and win the title under manager Dusty Baker.

    Baker saw it happen again this time as manager of the Astros, by the same 6-5 final score.

    The 106-win Astros hadn’t lost to anyone since Philadelphia beat them on Oct. 3 behind Aaron Nola to clinch a wild-card spot as a third-place team and earn its first playoff trip in 11 years.

    Houston raced out to a big lead thanks in large part to Tucker’s two homers. But the Phillies stormed back as Verlander again struggled in the World Series.

    Perfect as he took a 5-0 lead into the fourth, he exited after the fifth with the score 5-all. That left him 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight career World Series starts — hardly the line for a pitcher who’s expected to soon pick up his third Cy Young Award.

    The Astros fell to 0-5 in World Series openers and dropped their first game this postseason after sweeping in the AL Division Series and AL Championship Series.

    Seranthony Domínguez pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win when Castellanos made his stellar play.

    With Jose Altuve on second base after his two-out single and stolen base, Peña hit a ball that came off the bat at 68 mph and went only about 200 feet. Castellanos ran a long way, then with a lunge made the inning-ending catch while sliding to the ground.

    Right before the pitch, Castellanos moved in a little closer.

    “That was just what my instincts told me to do. I just thought he had a better chance of trying to bloop something in there than torching something over my head,” he said.

    In the opener of the NL Division Series against Atlanta, Castellanos drove in three runs and helped preserve the lead with a somewhat similar catch in the ninth of that 7-6 win.

    “I’ve had a couple people say that it seemed like a carbon copy of each other,” he said. “But I’m just happy that an out was made and we were able to go on and win both those games.”

    In the World Series for the fourth time in six years — and after losing to Atlanta in six games last year — these Astros are looking to give Baker his first title as a manager and get their second championship after winning it in 2017, a title tainted by a sign-stealing scandal.

    The surprising Phillies, who have two championships, are in the World Series for the first time since 2009. They bounced back from a 21-29 start that led to manager Joe Girardi’s firing.

    Tucker had the orange-clad home crowd rocking early as he became the first player in franchise history with a multi-home run game in the World Series. One of the few players in the majors to hit without batting gloves and suddenly exuding attitude, he had four RBIs a year after finishing the Fall Classic without one.

    The normally mild-mannered Tucker punctuated his first homer with a nifty bat flip and mixed in an expletive as he screamed toward the dugout while beginning his trot.

    Nola took a perfect game into the seventh inning in his last trip to Minute Maid Park, more than three weeks ago when Philadelphia secured its first playoff spot since 2011. Things didn’t go nearly as smooth in his return Friday.

    Tucker sent an off-speed pitch from Nola soaring high and into the seats in right field to put Houston up 1-0 with no outs in the second. Gurriel, Chas McCormick and Martín Maldonado added singles for another run.

    Peña, the ALCS MVP, doubled to open Houston’s third before Yordan Alvarez grounded out. He was initially ruled safe, but the Phillies challenged the call, and it was overturned.

    Bregman, who was Nola’s roommate at LSU, walked before Tucker went deep again, knocking a ball into the stands behind the bullpen in right-center to extend it to 5-0.

    Verlander, who had an MLB-best 1.75 ERA in the regular season, allowed six hits and five runs in five innings. He joined Roger Clemens as the only pitchers in major league history to make a World Series start in three different decades but still could not claim that elusive World Series win. Friday was his 12th career start in a postseason series opener, tying him with Jon Lester for most in MLB history.

    Verlander, who started his third Series opener, retired the first 10 batters before Rhys Hoskins singled with one out in the fourth. Harper and Castellanos singled for a run and Alec Bohm hit a two-run double to cut the lead to 5-3.

    Brandon Marsh opened the fifth with a double before Kyle Schwarber walked. Realmuto sent them both home with a double off the wall in left-center to tie it at 5-all.

    UP NEXT

    Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler opposes Framber Valdez when the series continues Saturday night.

    ———

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