Yordan Alvarez's sixth-inning home run, against the left-handed reliever brought in exclusively to retire him, traveled 450 feet to straightaway center field, clearing the towering batter's eye, scoring three runs, sending his jubilant teammates streaming onto the field and propelling the Houston Astros to a 4-1, title-clinching victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the World Series on Saturday night.

Justin Verlander overcame an early jolt to grit out the World Series win that long eluded him, rookie Jeremy Peña hit a go-ahead home run and the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 Thursday night to head home with a 3-2 lead.

Buoyed by late defensive gems from Trey Mancini and Chas McCormick, the Astros moved to the brink of their second championship — the other was a scandal-tainted title in 2017. They can close it out Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.

The Houston Astros completed the first combined no-hitter in postseason history on Wednesday night, riding six scoreless innings from Cristian Javier and another three from a trio of relievers in an emphatic 5-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the World Series.

The win tied the Series at two games apiece and placed Javier in exceedingly rare company, joining former New York Yankees right-hander Don Larsen -- author of a perfect game in 1956 -- as the only pitchers in World Series history to finish an outing with no hits allowed in six or more innings.

The Philadelphia Phillies tied the record for most home runs hit in a World Series game, belting five in a 7-0 win over the Houston Astros in Game 3 on Tuesday night.

Philadelphia leads the series 2-1, with Game 4 on Wednesday.

All five home runs came off starter Lance McCullers Jr., a record for most homers surrendered by a pitcher in a World Series game.