Jeremy Peña

Washington, November 4 (PL) -- The Houston Astros took the lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth game of the World Series in baseball in the United States (MLB) by defeating them 3-2.

Supported by the timely batting of rookie Jeremy Peña, who drove in two of the three runs, one of them a solo home run, the American League champions achieved the victory that puts them one step away from the title.

It was a close duel in which Houston's starter Justin Verlander obtained his first success in the World Series after six consecutive defeats, while Noah Syndergaard took the setback to his personal account.

The victory puts the match three wins to two in favor of the Astros, who will now look for the definitive victory in the remaining two games, while the Phillies need to win two in a row to be crowned.

The sixth game will take place this Saturday at the Space City for which pitchers Framber Valdez (Astros) and Zack Wheeler (Phillies) have been announced, a duel that was seen in game two of this instance and where Houston won with a 5-2 score.

If the Astros win, they would win their second title in the last five years, while Philadelphia seeks to repeat the title it last won in 2008.