The National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies travel to Houston to take on the American League Champion Astros to kick off the 118th installment of Major League Baseball's World Series. The Phillies come into the World Series after sweeping the Cardinals in the wildcard round, dropping the Braves in four games in the NLDS and ousting the Padres in just five games in the NLCS. The Astros come in to the World Series after sweeping the Mariners in the ALDS and following that up with a sweep of the Yankees in the ALCS. The pitching matchup in game one will feature Phillies righty Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25/2-1, 3.12) taking on Astros ace Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75/1-0, 6.30). First pitch is scheduled for 8:03pm EST.
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The Phillies are 9-2 thus far in the playoffs and have done so while being the underdog in all three series thus far. The team snuck into the playoffs late in the season after bouncing back from a mediocre start to the season that led to the firing of manager Joe Girardi and the promotion of bench coach Rob Thomson to interim manager. Thomson was rewarded with a two-year contract and the interim tag has been removed. In the playoffs, the Phillies have gone 4-2 on the road and 5-0 at home thus far. They have won the first game in each of their three series thus far. The Phillies are hitting just .237 in the playoffs but have belted 16 home runs and scoring 5.2 runs per game. Former MVP Bryce Harper has been dominant in the playoffs, hitting .419 with five home runs and 11 RBI thus far. He was awarded the NLCS MVP and is the one player that Houston will try not to let beat them. First baseman Rhy Hoskins has also bashed five home runs and 11 RBI in the playoffs, including home runs in three straight games to close out the NLCS. One other offensive player to keep an eye on is NL home run leader Kyle Schwarber. After struggling through much of the playoffs, Schwarber hit .400 with three home runs in the NLCS.
Four more, Topper pic.twitter.com/qunW9KHhiX
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 27, 2022
The Phillies, with the five-game series win over San Diego, were able to line up their rotation to their choosing heading into game one. The Phillies top two starters, Zach Wheeler and Aaron Nola, have combined to go 3-2 in the playoffs thus far. Lefty Ranger Suarez will likely start game three against an Astros team that is 42-12 against lefties this season. If the Phillies go with a four-man rotation, Noah Syndergaard seems like the likely starter after going 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA against the Astros while pitching for the Angels this season. The Phillies bullpen has featured four key performers in the playoffs: hard throwing lefty Jose Alvarado, Zach Eflin, David Robertson and Seranthony Dominguez. Alvarado already has three holds in the playoffs and Dominguez has struck out 15 batters in just over 7 innings. He has shown that he can finish games and give the team multiple innings. Elfin has looked much better as a middle reliever than he has as a starter this season. Finally, Robertson has two holds and a save in the playoffs as he seems to have found his form again. Nola will get the ball on Friday night and has pitched 17.1 innings in the playoffs while allowing 16 hits and allowed six earned runs. He has averaged 9.35 K/9 in the playoffs and a WHIP of 1.10. Nola faced the Astros once this season and was dominant. He allowed just two hits in 6.2 innings while striking out nine batters in a 3-0 Phillies win in Houston.