Even with 5-0 lead, Verlander can’t get 1st World Series win

© Provided by Associated Press – Sports Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander walks to the dugout after the top of the first inning in Game 1 of baseball’s World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

HOUSTON (AP) — Even with a 5-0 lead, Justin Verlander couldn’t get his first World Series win.

Perfect through three innings, he was utterly fallable in the fourth and fifth. Nick Castellanos started Verlander’s downfall with a run-scoring single, and Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto each hit a two-run double that pulled the Philadelphia Phillies into a 5-5 tie with the Houston Astros in Friday night’s opener.

Verlander was pulled after five innings. The 39-year-old right-hander allowed six hits and two walks in an outing that left him 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight World Series starts.

© Provided by Associated Press – Sports Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander kicks the mound after Philadelphia Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto’s two-RBI double during the fifth inning in Game 1 of baseball’s World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

He became the fourth-oldest pitcher to start a Series game after 43-year-old Roger Clemens, 40-year-old David Wells and Early Wynn, a slightly more aged 39. He said he was ready and looked the part, his face filled with the stubble from his habit of shaving only right after a start.

© Provided by Associated Press – Sports Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander throws during the first inning in Game 1 of baseball’s World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Likely headed to his third Cy Young Award after going 18-4 with a big league-best 1.75 ERA in his return from Tommy John surgery, Verlander has said he hopes to pitch until age 45.

His first three innings could not have been smoother. A sharp fastball averaging 95 mph, a curve and a slider kept the Phillies off balance the first time through the batting order. Verlander needed 36 pitches to get nine outs, 27 of them strikes.

© Provided by Associated Press – Sports World Series Phillies Astros Baseball

But Rhys Hoskins singled to center on a fastball with one out in the fourth, Bryce Harper singled on a slider with two outs and Castellanos singled on a slider to drive in the Phillies’ first run.

© Provided by Associated Press – Sports Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander throws during the first inning in Game 1 of baseball’s World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Bohm hooked a hanging curveball into the left-field corner to cut the gap to 5-3. Only after Bryson Stott worked out a 10-pitch walk did Verlander retire Jean Segura on an inning-ending popup.

Then in the fifth, No. 9 hitter Brandon Marsh doubled leading off, Kyle Schwarber singled and one out later, Realmuto drove another hanging curve off the chain-link fence in left-center to tie the score.

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