2022 World Series Game 6: Astros Clinch Second Championship

After cruising through the Division Series and American League Championship series undefeated as the #1 seed, the Houston Astros finally faced some playoff adversity at the beginning of the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Philadelphia held a 2-1 series lead with their 7-0 Game 3 victory. Houston tied the series with a combined no-hitter in Game 4 to seize the momentum. After a narrow Game 5 tiebreaker win, the Astros were one win away from clinching their franchise’s second championship at home.

Houston 4, Philadelphia 1

Houston wins the championship 4-2

WP: Framber Valdez

LP: Zack Wheeler

S: Ryan Pressly

This game was scoreless through the first five innings. Kyle Schwarber struck first for Philly with a solo home run in the 6th inning.

Kyle Schwarber breaks the tie in Game 6!

He joins Chase Utley and Ryan Howard as the only Phillies players to have a HR in back-to-back games.

He has three HR in his last four games and six in his last 11 ?

? @MLBONFOX | @Phillies pic.twitter.com/7rmhdSxnzY

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 6, 2022

Valdez pitched brilliantly for Houston yet again, striking out nine Phillies batters in 6.0 IP to make World Series history. He was my choice for series MVP.

Framber Valdez is the 15th pitcher ever—and just the second since 2003—to have multiple games with 8+ strikeouts in the World Series.#WorldSeries | #LevelUp pic.twitter.com/FpJDVKNhQ8

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) November 6, 2022

The Astros responded to Schwarber’s cannon blast by scoring four times in the 6th inning. Yordan Álvarez did the main damage with a three-run bomb to center field.

YORDAN ALVAREZ 3-RUN HR TO GIVE THE ASTROS A 3-1 LEAD ? @BRWalkoff

(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/2CVaM0GDqf

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 6, 2022

The Phillies never truly threatened to get into the game after the Álvarez homer. The offensive woes they suffered ever since the Game 4 no-no were exemplified by Schwarber striking out on a foul bunt to end the 8th inning.

Rookie Jeremy Peña received the World Series MVP award to make it a clean sweep of postseason MVP trophies, the ninth player in postseason history to do so.

The first rookie position player to win #WorldSeries MVP: Jeremy Peña! pic.twitter.com/TPSm2ikVpH

— MLB (@MLB) November 6, 2022

Dusty Baker won his first World Series as a manager after 25 MLB managerial campaigns and three World Series appearances.

Dusty Baker — 73 years old, owner of 2,093 regular-season victories, winner of nine division titles and three pennants, seen as one of the most generous souls and best guys in baseball — can add one more achievement to an already-loaded resume:

World Series-winning manager.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 6, 2022

The Houston Astros franchise would like fans to believe another victory now vindicates their 2017 title. The only thing that has been proven is that MLB failed to punish them appropriately. The franchise should not have been allowed to remain in a position to compete for championships for at least a decade. Fans should not have to watch cheaters win a second championship trophy after stealing their first.

Unfortunately, few baseball writers will care to examine this situation. When all is said and done for the year, more characters will be devoted to litigating True Home Run Kingship than exploring the tainted legacies of José Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel.

Featured Image: Waving flag with Houston Astros professional team logo. Close-up of waving flag with Houston Astros baseball team logo, seamless loop. Editorial footage by Media Whalestock / Shutterstock.com.