World Series: Framber Valdez and Astros Even Series With Game 2 Win
Chris Costello (Photo by Ron Madson Jr.)
Game 2 of the National League Championship Series is in the books and the Houston Astros have advanced to the World Series. The Astros swept the Chicago Cubs in four games, winning their first playoff game since the 2015 NLCS run where they swept the Arizona Diamondbacks, ending their two-year playoff drought.
The Astros are now riding a five-game series win-streak into their second World Series appearance and the first time two teams have swept a series in the same year.
Not only did the Astros sweep their last few games from Chicago (in Game 1 of the regular season), but they also swept their last two games after falling behind late when the Cubs took a 12-7 lead after seven innings.
Houston won Game 1, 4-1, sweeping its home series in the process, but the following day, Chicago won Game 2, 4-1. The series then went to NLCS.
The Cubs are now tied with the Houston Astros for the best record in baseball.
The two teams are tied with three games left in the series with Game 3 (which is not expected to be until Monday) remaining on the schedule.
The Astros are even in the postseason, although they could sweep their final series if both teams win one game.
Chris Costello: In the aftermath of the Houston Astros sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the 2018 College World Series – which came down to the wire after the Cubs and Astros tied the series at 2-2 in Game 4, and the Astros scored twice in the ninth inning in Game 5 – both teams seem to be on edge after Game 1, which was a very memorable game in the context of this Series.
It was a back-and-forth game that was much more entertaining than some of the games before and after it. There was a lot of pressure on both teams, because they both knew they were on the verge of