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Donald Trump at last night's World Series baseball game in Washington. Pablo Martinez Monsivais
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Trump roundly booed at baseball's World Series as Astros move to brink of victory

The US President was met by a chorus of ‘lock him up’ in Washington last night.

DONALD TRUMP WAS roundly booed by the crowd at game five of the baseball’s World Series in Washington last night as a masterful pitching performance from Houston Astros ace Gerrit Cole lifted his side to the brink of their second title in three seasons. 

Trump attended the game with his wife Melania on the day his administration announced the death, long-sought by the Pentagon, of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

After the game’s third inning, the stadium’s video display showed military members in attendance – but then quickly cut to Trump.

The cheering crowd immediately switched to loud and sustained boos.

When the display cut back to the soldiers, the booing died down, but fans soon took up a chorus of “Lock him up!” – a play on the chant frequently heard at pro-Trump rallies against Hilary Clinton, but now often used against the president.

Demonstrators sitting behind the home plate also unfurled “veterans for impeachment” banners during the game, in reference to the House of Representatives investigation into whether Trump abused power by withholding military aid to Ukraine.

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Spanish-American celebrity chef Jose Andres, a vocal critic of Trump’s controversial immigration policies and Puerto Rico hurricane relief efforts.

Once the action got underway, Yordan Alvarez, Carlos Correa and George Springer each smacked two-run homers as the Astros seized a 3-2 lead in Major League Baseball’s best-of-seven final.

“If we win in front of our fans, it’s going to be so special,” Correa said. “I think I’ll black out for the first time in my life.”

world-series-astros-nationals-baseball Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, and right fielder George Springer celebrate. Jeff Roberson Jeff Roberson

Game six is set for Tuesday in Houston, where a seventh game would be played Wednesday if necessary.

“We’ve got a lot of fight in us left. I know we do,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “We’re going to fight. We’re going to finish this thing.”

The Astros can secure a second title in three seasons Tuesday when Justin Verlander takes the mound against Washington’s Stephen Strasburg.

The Nationals must win twice in Texas, as they did in the first two games of the series, to capture the first title in the franchise’s 50-year history and the first for Washington since 1924.

The Astros could become only the third team in World Series history to lose the first two games at home and win the title, the first since the 1996 New York Yankees.

In sweeping three games at Washington, where the World Series hadn’t been played since 1933, the Astros outscored the Nationals by a combined 19-3 after falling twice by a combined 17-7 in Houston.

© – AFP, 2019

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