Oct. 22 (UPI) -- The Houston Astros shut down the Boston Red Sox and earned a 5-0 win in Friday night's Game 6 of the American League Championship Series to reach the World Series for the second time in the past three years.
The Astros won the final three games of the best-of-seven ALCS to take the series 4-2, preventing the Red Sox from advancing to the Fall Classic for the first time since their championship run in 2018.
It will be Houston's third trip to the World Series in the last five seasons. The Astros won the title in 2017 -- a championship tainted by the club's illegal sign-stealing scandal -- before losing to the Washington Nationals in seven games in 2019.
Houston will face either the Los Angeles Dodgers or Atlanta Braves in the World Series, which is set to begin Tuesday night. The Braves currently hold a 3-2 lead over the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series, with Game 6 set for Saturday at Truist Park.
"There's four more wins on the board out there," Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "There's four more wins you've got to get."
Astros rookie Luis Garcia, who started Game 2 and gave up a grand slam in the first inning of that matchup, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning to earn the win Friday at Minute Maid Park. He allowed just one hit and issued one walk while striking out seven across 5 2/3 innings.
Yordan Alvarez, meanwhile, continued his hot hitting in the series, notching four hits in the Astros' victory. He also led Houston's Game 5 win with three hits and three RBIs.
Alvarez gave his club a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when he scored Alex Bregman on a double. Later in the sixth, Kyle Tucker grounded into a double play but scored Alvarez, extending the Astros' lead to 2-0.
Tucker then put the game out of reach with a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth.
The Red Sox mustered just two hits against the Astros in the decisive Game 6. Kike Hernandez and Alex Verdugo were the only players to collect a hit.
Nathan Eovaldi got the start for the Red Sox and allowed one run on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. He recorded four strikeouts and walked one.