Game 3 was postponed 24 hours due to rain, so the Philadelphia Phillies wanted to make up for lost time – and that they did.
The Phillies used the long ball to earn a 7-0 win over the Houston Astros and take a two games to one lead in the World Series.
Lance McCullers allowed six hits on the night. Usually, that’s not too bad. The problem? Five of them were home runs.
In the Phillies’ last home game, Bryce Harper hit a two-run home run to send them to the World Series. On Tuesday, Harper got the scoring started with a two-run shot in the first inning, putting Citizens Bank Park on its feet. That was just a preview of what was to come.
After Ranger Suarez escaped two-on, two-out jam in the second, Alec Bohm received a word of advice from Harper before stepping up to the dish – it must’ve worked. Bohm hit a solo home run on the first pitch he saw. Two batters later, Brandon Marsh joined the party, launching a solo shot of his own.
The Astros had another rally going in the fifth, once again putting two men on with two outs, but Jose Altuve popped out, and once again, the Phillies jumped. Kyle Schwarber did his usual, blasting a two-run home run, and Rhys Hoskins kicked the extra point to put the Phillies up 7-0 by going back-to-back with the lefty.
Suarez was shaky at times, but ultimately gave the Phillies exactly what they needed – and the five homers of support certainly helped. The lefty allowed just three hits and walk while striking out four. He lowered his postseason ERA to 1.23.
Game 4 begins on Wednesday night at 8:04 p.m. ET – Aaron Nola will take the bump for the Phillies after a disastrous last couple starts (11 earned runs combined, totaling 9.0 innings), as Cristian Javier will toe the rubber for Houston to avoid a serious 3-1 deficit. Javier has allowed just run in his last six appearances, spanning 29.2 innings (0.30 ERA).