Astros' Justin Verlander Says 'I Need to Do Better' After Blowing 5-Run Game 1 Lead

A perfect start turned into a nightmare for Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.

Speaking to reporters after the Astros' 6-5 loss in 10 innings, Verlander shouldered the blame for not protecting a five-run lead.

"I need to do better," he said. "No excuses. I felt like I had some guys in good situations and just wasn't able to quite make the pitches that I wanted to. A lot of credit to [the Phillies] as a lineup. They laid off some good pitches, and they were able to, when I did execute pitches, they were able to foul it off or put it in play and find a couple hits that way. Then when I did make a mistake, they hit it hard."

The game started in such a way that it seemed like the Astros would cruise to an easy victory. Verlander threw 32 pitches and didn't allow a baserunner through the first three innings.

Meanwhile, Kyle Tucker gave Houston a 5-0 lead with a two-run homer in the second and a three-run homer in the third.

It looked like the Phillies were going to go quietly in the third inning. Rhys Hoskins' one-out single broke up the perfect game, but J.T. Realmuto made the second out of the inning in the next at-bat.

The Phillies were able to string together three consecutive hits to cut the deficit to 5-3 before Jean Segura popped out to end the top of the fourth. Realmuto's one-out double in the fifth tied the score.

Both bullpens combined to allow seven hits in 10.2 innings, and Realmuto's solo homer off Luis Garcia in the top of the 10th provided the difference in the game.

This marks the second time in three playoff starts this month that Verlander has allowed at least five earned runs. He allowed five earned runs once in 28 starts during the regular season.

Verlander has struggled in the World Series over the course of his career, as the front-runner for the American League Cy Young award is now 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight starts in the Fall Classic.

This is Houston's fourth appearance in the World Series since 2017. The team is 0-4 in Game 1 during that span, with losses to the Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers (2017), Washington Nationals (2019) and Atlanta Braves (2021).

The Astros' only championship during this run was in 2017.

Framber Valdez will look to get Houston back in the series when he takes the mound against Zack Wheeler for Game 2 on Saturday night.