Justin Verlander Criticized by MLB Twitter After Astros’ Game 1 World Series Loss

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The Houston Astros held a 5-0 lead after three innings, but the visiting Philadelphia Phillies scored three in the fourth and two in the fifth before taking the lead for good in the 10th off a J.T. Realmuto homer for the 6-5 victory in Game 1 of the World Series from Minute Maid Park.

Everything was going right for Houston through three innings. Staff ace and likely American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander was perfect through nine batters. Kyle Tucker hit a pair of homers, and Martin Maldonado executed an RBI single on a hit-and-run.

Disaster struck in the fourth, though, when Philadelphia scored three runs with two outs thanks to a Nick Castellanos single and an Alec Bohm double.

Verlander had a chance earlier in the inning to finish the Phils off on a double play after nearly snagging a Realmuto line-drive comebacker with one out and Rhys Hoskins on first, but he had to settle for the lone out on the force.

The fifth inning was not kind to Verlander, either, as Realmuto got back up to the dish and smacked a two-RBI double to tie the game.

For the night, Verlander threw five innings and allowed six hits, five earned runs and two walks while striking out five.

The two teams went scoreless for the next four frames before Realmuto took Luis Garcia deep. Houston got runners on second and third with two out in the bottom half of the 10th, but David Robertson got Aledmys Diaz to ground out to end the game.

The story of the day was Verlander, a surefire Hall of Famer and superstar pitcher who continues to have trouble in the World Series. It appeared that narrative would be chucked in the trash through three innings, but the story remains the same after the star struggled again.

Game 2 of the World Series will occur Saturday in Houston at 8:03 p.m. ET. Zack Wheeler will take the mound for Philadelphia, and Framber Valdez will do the same for Houston.