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J.T. Realmuto World Series Game 1 Philadelphia Phillies Houston Astros

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HOUSTON (AP) — J.T. Realmuto homered in the 10th inning and the Philadelphia Phillies, saved by right fielder Nick Castellanos’ sliding catch, rallied past the Houston Astros 6-5 Friday night in the World Series opener.

Down 5-0 early against Astros ace Justin Verlander, the Phillies became the first team in 20 years to overcome a five-run deficit to win a World Series game.

They can thank Castellanos for getting the chance. Known much more for his bat than glove, he rushed in to make a terrific grab on Jeremy Peña’s blooper with two outs in the ninth inning and a runner on second.

Realmuto, who hit a tying, two-run double in the fifth off Verlander, completed the comeback when he led off the 10th by sending a fastball from Luis García into the seats in right field.

Kyle Tucker homered twice for the Astros, who had been 7-0 in this postseason.

Houston had a chance in the 10th when Alex Bregman doubled with one out. After Yuli Gurriel drew a two-out walk, David Robertson bounced a wild pitch that put runners on second and third.

Pinch-hitter Aledmys Díaz was then hit by a 2-0 pitch from David Robertson — but plate umpire James Hoye ruled that Díaz leaned into the pitch and didn’t permit him to go to first to load the bases.

Díaz grounded out on a 3-1 pitch to end it.

The last team to blow a 5-0 lead in the World Series was the 2002 San Francisco Giants, who squandered their chance in Game 6 to close out the Angels and win the title under manager Dusty Baker.

Baker saw it happen again this time as manager of the Astros, by the same 6-5 final score.

The 106-win Astros hadn’t lost to anyone since Philadelphia beat them on Oct. 3 to clinch a wild-card spot as a third-place team.

Houston raced out to a big lead thanks in large part to Tucker’s two homers. But the Phillies stormed back as Verlander again struggled in the World Series.

Perfect as he took a 5-0 lead into the fourth, he exited after the fifth with the score 5-all. That left him 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight career World Series starts — hardly the line for a pitcher who’s expected to soon pick up his third Cy Young Award.

The Astros fell to 0-5 in World Series openers and dropped their first game this postseason after sweeping in the AL Division Series and AL Championship Series.

Seranthony Domínguez pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win when Castellanos made another stellar ninth-inning catch this postseason, this one definitely a game-saving play.

With Jose Altuve on second base after his two-out single and stolen base, Peña hit a ball that came off the bat at 68 mph and went only about 200 feet. Castellanos ran a long way, then with a lunge made the inning-ending catch while sliding to the ground.

In the opener of the NL Division Series against Atlanta, Castellanos drove in three runs and helped preserve the lead with a somewhat similar catch in the ninth of that 7-6 win.

In the World Series for the fourth time in six years — and after losing to Atlanta in six games last year — these Astros are looking to give Baker his first title as a manager and get their second championship after winning it in 2017, a title tainted by a sign-stealing scandal.

The surprising Phillies, who have two championships, are in the World Series for the first time since 2009. They bounced back from a 21-29 start that led to manager Joe Girardi’s firing with a 66-46 finish to reach the playoffs.

They won their eighth pennant by dispatching the San Diego Padres in five games in the NLCS under manager Rob Thomson.

UP NEXT

Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler opposes Framber Valdez when the series continues Saturday night.

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Canadian women’s sitting volleyball team ends Paralympic team sport podium drought

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PARIS – Canada won its first Paralympic medal in women’s sitting volleyball and ended the country’s team sport podium drought Saturday.

The women’s volleyball team swept Brazil 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-18) to take the bronze medal at North Paris Arena.

The women were the first Canadian side to claim a Paralympic medal in a team sport since the men’s wheelchair basketball team won gold in London in 2012.

“Oh my gosh, literally disbelief, but also, we did it,” said veteran Heidi Peters of Neerlandia, Alta. “It’s indescribable.”

Canada finished seventh in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and fourth in Tokyo three years ago.

Seven players of the dozen Canadians were Rio veterans and nine returned from the team in Tokyo.

Eleven were members of the squad that earned a silver medal at the 2022 world championship.

“I know how hard every athlete and every staff member and all of our family back home have worked for this moment,” captain Danielle Ellis said.

“It’s been years and years and years in the making, our third Paralympic Games, and we knew we wanted to be there.”

The women earned a measure of revenge on the Brazilians, who beat Canada for bronze in Tokyo and also in a pool game in Paris.

“There’s a lot of history with us and Brazil,” Peters acknowledged. “Today we just knew that we could do it. We were like, ‘This is our time and if we just show up and play our style of volleyball, serving tough and hitting the ball hard, the game will probably going our way.’ And it did.”

Calgary’s Jennifer Oakes led Canada with 10 attack points. Ellis of White Rock, B.C., and Peters each contributed nine.

Canada registered 15 digs as a team to Brazil’s 10.

“Losing to Brazil in the second game was tough,” Ellis said. “It just lit the fire beneath us.”

Canada’s men’s wheelchair basketball team fell 75-62 to Germany in the bronze-medal game in Paris.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Canada’s Danielle Dorris defends Paralympic gold in Paris pool

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PARIS – Canada’s Danielle Dorris defended her title at the Paralympic Games on Saturday.

The 21-year-old swimmer from Fredericton won gold in the women’s S7 50-metre final with a time of 33.62 seconds.

Mallory Weggemann of the United States took silver, while Italy’s Guilia Terzi was third.

Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., was fourth after picking up a silver and a bronze earlier in the Games.

Dorris captured gold in Tokyo three years ago, and was the youngest member of Canada’s team at age 13 at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

She was born with underdeveloped arms, a condition known as bilateral radial dysplasia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Canadian para paddler Brianna Hennessy earns Paralympic silver medal

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PARIS – Canadian para canoeist Brianna Hennessy raced to her first Paralympic medal with a reminder of her mother on her paddle.

The 39-year-old from Ottawa took silver in the women’s 200-metre sprint Saturday in Paris.

The design on Hennessy’s paddle includes a cardinal in remembrance of her late mother Norma, the letter “W’ for Wonder Woman and a cat.

“My mother passed away last year, so I said I’d be racing down the course with her,” Hennessy said Saturday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

“In our family, a cardinal represents what our love means. My mum was my Wonder Woman, and this is a cardinal rising up. This is our family pet that passed away two months after my mum, of cancer, because I think their love was together.

“All this represents so much to me, so it’s my passion piece for Paris.”

Hennessy finished just over a second behind gold medallist Emma Wiggs of Britain in the women’s VL2 Va’a, which is a canoe that has a support float and is propelled with a single-blade paddle.

Hennessy’s neck was broken when she was struck by a speeding taxi driver in Toronto in 2014 when she was 30. She has tetraplegia, which is paralysis in her arms and legs.

“This year’s the 10-year anniversary of my accident,” Hennessy said. “I should have been dead. I’ve been fighting back ever since.

“This is the pinnacle of it all for me and everything I’ve been fighting for. It made it all worth it.”

After placing fifth in her Paralympic debut in Tokyo three years ago, Hennessy was a silver medallist in the last three straight world championships in the event.

She will race the women’s kayak single Sunday. Hennessy and Wiggs have a tradition of hugging after races.

“I always talk about the incredible athletes here, and how the Paralympics means so much more because everyone here has a million reasons to give up, and we’ve all chosen to just go on,” the Canadian said. “It’s more about the camaraderie.”

Hennessy boxed and played hockey and rugby before she was hit by the taxi.

She was introduced to wheelchair rugby by the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre.

She eventually turned to paddling at the Ottawa River Canoe Club, which led her to the Paralympic podium in Paris.

“It has a good ring to it,” Hennessy said. “I’m so happy. I feel like we’ve had to overcome so much to get here, especially in the last year and a half. I’m just so proud.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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