Justin Verlander, Jeremy Peña Celebrated by Twitter as Astros Beat Phillies in Game 5

The Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 in Game 5 of the World Series at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday to take a 3-2 series lead with the championship set to shift back to Minute Maid Park on Saturday.

Houston has the opportunity to win its first title since 2017 in Saturday's Game 6, and it's all thanks to a combination of Justin Verlander and rookie Jeremy Peña.

Verlander tossed five innings in Thursday's win before being replaced by reliever Héctor Neris. He allowed just one run on four hits and struck out six before exiting. The only run he allowed came on a solo shot from Kyle Schwarber in the first inning.

While Verlander has now allowed the most home runs in World Series history, he also got his first World Series victory. The veteran came up huge when it mattered most, and he's now being praised on Twitter for his efforts:

Peña was also praised by Twitter users after he finished with three hits and two RBI in four at-bats. He drove in the team's first run of the game in the first inning and hit a go-ahead solo home run in the fourth inning to put Houston up 2-1.

Peña has been one of Houston's best players throughout the postseason, and they'll need him to continue playing his best in Game 6 if the Astros wan't to claim the World Series title.

As for Verlander, his postseason performance is likely finished, but he etched his name into the history books yet again, and if the Astros go on to win the championship on Saturday, his Game 5 outing will be looked at with even more praise.