Suarez pitched five solid innings and Harper, Bohm, Marsh, Schwarber and Hoskins homered as Philadelphia beat Houston 7-0
Bryce Harper’s killer swing and a whisper to teammate Alec Bohm were the catalysts for a night in which the Philadelphia Phillies hit five home runs to tie a World Series record.
Harper hit his sixth homer this postseason off the first pitch he saw, and the Phillies swept the Houston Astros 7-0 on Thursday night for a 2-1 lead in the Fall Classic. Ranger Suarez had three hits in five scoreless innings to leave his team halfway to winning the third championship in franchise history.
Hosting a World Series for the first time since 2009, the Phillies attacked Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr. ruthlessly early.
Three of the first nine batters Philly sent to the plate — Harper, Bohm and Brandon Marsh — disappeared on a nice, clear night.
Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins added back-to-back shots that sent McCullers to the showers in the fifth, making it 7-0 and rocking Citizens Bank Park.
Bohm’s in the second inning was the 1,000th home run in 118 editions of the World Series. The five H4s tied a World Series record set three times: by the 1928 Yankees, when Babe Ruth hit three; the Oakland Athletics in 1989, in the first game after the interruption caused by the earthquake that shook the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Houston Astros in 2017, a season marred by the sign-stealing scandal.
McCullers became the first pitcher in postseason history to give up five home runs in a game.
Harper started the home run rush when he hit a curveball that floated across the middle of the plate and sent the ball 402 feet into the right-center field stands.
Suarez became just the second pitcher from Venezuela to win a World Series game as a starter.
The other was Freddy García in 2005, playing the exit that ended with the coronation of the Chicago White Sox, precisely against the Astros.
The Phillies remain undefeated at home this postseason.
