World Series Preview 

By : Mike Rifkin

On Friday, at Minute Maid Park Game One of the 2022 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros will be played. The Phillies have not been to the World Series since 2009, haven’t won it since 2008. While the Astros have been in the World Series three of the last four years. The Astros lost the World Series to another NL East team last year when the Braves beat them in six games, the Astros won their only World Series in 2017, but that came with controversy. 

The Phillies finished this season 87-75, third place in the NL East, and got the last spot in the playoffs. By getting in the Phillies snapped the longest playoff drought in the National League. The Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals in two games in the Wild Card Round. Then they beat the reigning World Series Champs Atlanta Braves in four games in the Divisional Round. In the NLCS the Phillies beat the San Diego Padres in five games. Bryce Harper, the 2022 NLCS MVP has showcased himself this postseason with five home runs, 11 RBI and a slash line of .419/.444/.907. Harper has been clutch this postseason for the Phillies including in game five of the NLCS, where in the bottom of the Eighth Inning he hit a two run home run off of Robert Suarez to give the Phillies the lead. Harper is tied for the team lead with Rhys Hoskins both have five home runs. The Phillies as a team have 16 home runs so far this playoffs and have a team slash line of .237/.307/.442.  The Phillies top two starters Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are as good as any duo in the Majors. Wheeler has a 1.78 ERA so far this postseason, while Nola has a 3.12 ERA. But the Phillies bullpen which has been a struggle in years past, has been solid this postseason. The Phillies bullpen has a 3.19 ERA this postseason after having a 4.27 ERA during the regular season. 

The Astros won 106 games during the regular season and won the AL West again. The Astros swept the Seattle Mariners in the ALDS and swept the New York Yankees in the ALCS. Short Stop Jeremy Pena who hit the game tying three run home run in game four of the ALCS was named ALCS MVP. Pena had a .353/.353/.824 slash line with two home runs in the series. Pena had big shoes to fill after Carlos Correa left in free agency, Pena hit 22 home runs and 63 RBI during the regular season. But the Astros are not being led by the guys you would think. Jose Altuve has a slash line of .094/.171/.125, this playoff, Yordan Alvarez has two home runs but a slash line of .241/.371/.517 and Kyle Tucker has a .214/.313/.321 slash line with one homer. Yuli Gurriel who struggled during the regular season with a .242 average is hitting .367 and has two home runs, as does teammate Alex Bregman. The Astros top two starters Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez will both be at the top of a lot of CY Young ballots. Valdez has a 1.42 ERA through his first two starts, while Verlander struck out 11 Yankees in his last start. The Astros bullpen has an ERA of 0.82 so far this playoff after posting a 2.80 ERA during the regular season. 

I feel this series is very important for the Astros for a few reasons. The first being the only thing missing on Manager Dusty Baker’s resume is a World Series Championship. The other reason is if the Astros win the World Series people can stop talking about their 2017 title being tainted. After their sign stealing scandal everyone delegitimizes the Astros and every year they are one of the best teams in baseball, but a victory in the World Series can put that whole issue behind them.

Prediction : Astros in six