HOUSTON—Kyle Tucker got the fans jumping with a leadoff homer in the second inning. Then he hit a three-run drive in the third.
Ahead 5–0, the Houston Astros finally were going to win a World Series opener.
Instead, Tucker’s first two Series home runs weren’t quite enough.
J.T. Realmuto tied the score with a two-run double off ace Justin Verlander in the fifth, then hit a go-ahead home run in the 10th that lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-5 victory Friday night.
Tucker had gone without an RBI in last year’s six-game Series loss to Atlanta.
“Kyle, he’s been fantastic for us all year. Should probably win a Silver Slugger. One of the best hitters in baseball. So I don’t think anybody’s surprised in our locker room,” Verlander said.
Tucker also singled in the eighth, but in the 10th he came up short. Realmuto hit an opposite-field drive against Luis Garcia leading off, and the ball went just over the glove of a leaping Tucker at the right-field wall.
In the bottom half, he came to the plate with one out following Alex Bregman’s double off David Robertson and struck out.
Aledmys Diaz hit a game-ending grounder with runners at second and third, and the Astros lost Game 1 of the Series just as they did in 2005, 2017, 2019 and last year.
“I think this team, we have an ability when our back’s against the wall to play our best baseball,” Verlander said. “I expect nothing different moving forward from everybody in this locker room, including myself. And hopefully I get another opportunity to pitch and can do better.”