It appears the Phillies are for real.

Down 5-0 after three innings to Justin Verlander, they came off the mat, tied the game by the fifth, then won it in the tenth,

Coming into his Game 1 start, Verlander had never won World Series game. Surprisingly, he is 0-6 in the World Series. It looked like he had the perfect opportunity to finally pick up that first win.

His team scored three in the second, then two more in the third, basically on the strength of two Kyle Tucker home runs. But Phillies pitching shut dow the offense from that point and Houston didn’t score again.

The Phillies did what they have done so many times this post-season. They unleashed their relentless offense with a barrage of singles and a few well-placed doubles. Then, J.T. Realmuto led off the tenth with the Phillies only home run of the game. It came at an opportune time. It gave Philadelphia its first lead of the game. They survived a scare in the bottom of the tenth to win Game 1 of the 2022 World Series and break the hearts of a packed Minute Maid Park.

Watching 42,903 Astros fans heart breaking was a glorious thing. Let’s hope it can be repeated again tonight.

*****