Houston Astros Win First World Series Since Cheating Scandal

They beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in game 6
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 5, 2022 10:48 PM CDT
Houston Astros Win First World Series Since Cheating Scandal
Houston Astros' Yordan Alvarez celebrates his three-run home run during the sixth inning in Game sixth of baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Houston.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Yordan Alvarez hit a towering go-ahead homer and the Houston Astros clinched their second World Series title in six seasons, snagging Dusty Baker his first crown as a manager with a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 on Saturday night, the AP reports. As Alvarez's 450-foot blast in the sixth inning disappeared, Astros starter Framber Valdez jumped and wildly screamed in the dugout as fans in the crowd of 42,948 went into a frenzy waving their orange rally towels. Baker finally got his first title in his 25th season as a manager, the past three since being hired by the Astros to help the team regain credibility after the sign-stealing scandal that cost manger AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow their jobs, and made Houston the most reviled team in baseball.

The 73-year-old Baker, who had been to the World Series twice before as a skipper, is the oldest championship manager. Houston's coaching and training staffs circled around Baker after Nick Castellanos flied out to end it, jumping up and down, and chanting “Dusty! Dusty! Dusty!” in the dugout before they joined the players on the field. Alvarez’s homer cleared the batter’s eye in straightaway center, the backdrop that extends 40 feet above the field, and made it 3-1. It was the first time the Cuban slugger connected since the first two games this postseason. Christian Vázquez added an RBI single later in the inning to make it 4-1.

Houston won an American League-best 106 games and reached its fourth World Series during a span in which it made it to the AL Championship Series six seasons in a row. The Astros made their only other World Series appearance in 2005, while still in the National League, and were swept in four games by the Chicago White Sox. This was their third ALCS and second consecutive World Series since former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers revealed after the 2019 season, when he had gone from Houston for two years since being part of their 2017 championship, that the team had used a camera in center field to steal signs and signal hitters on which pitches to expect by banging on a garbage can.

(More Houston Astros stories.)

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