Control of the series is now in the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies after a Game 1 victory on Friday night. Game 2 on Saturday features Zack Wheeler for the Phillies and southpaw Framber Valdez for the Astros, which is significant because both teams performed better against lefties than righties, but only the underdog gets to face a left-handed pitcher in this one.
Game 1 sure was interesting in that the Astros blew a 5-0 lead and both teams had to use their bullpens extensively. There is a sense that the Phillies are kind of playing with house money to a degree. The fact that they won Game 1 puts a lot more pressure on the Astros now, as home-field advantage has been taken away.
Game 2 is an enormous game for both teams, so let’s see what we can expect.
The Astros went into Game 1 with an unblemished record of 7-0, but they had some close calls. The Mariners should have won Game 1 of the ALDS and Game 3 went 17 scoreless innings before Jeremy Pena’s solo homer in the 18th untied the game. They are not impenetrable, but they are extremely hard to beat. The Phillies did it and took a 1-0 series lead in the process. They showed a ton of heart and flipped into the series favorite now.