The Phillies look to take down dominant Astros in World Series
The 2022 World Series matchup is officially set, with the underdog Philadelphia Phillies looking to take out the American League powerhouse Houston Astros. This is an unlikely pairing that many did not see coming; it will be interesting to see how the teams fight to take the other out of contention.
These teams’ recent histories could not be more different from each other. The Astros have made it to the postseason every year since 2017 and are heading to their fourth World Series in six years. Those numbers are truly remarkable, considering the competition they face in the American League, specifically from the New York Yankees. However, the team has only finished the job and won a championship once in their past three attempts, so the core of this team will be starving for their second title this season.
This season, on the other hand, marks the first time the Phillies have made the playoffs at all in the last eleven seasons. The team lost in the first round in 2011 after making the playoffs for the fifth straight year, and even went to the World Series in two consecutive seasons in 2008-2009, winning once. Since then, though, the team has been attempting to claw back to gory. The pieces finally fell into place this season and they fought hard to secure a playoff spot.
The Astros came into these 2022 playoffs as the number one seed in the American League with a regular season record of 106-56—seven wins better than the second-place team. In the first round this year the team faced their division rival Seattle Mariners, sweeping the M’s in 3 games. The team then went on to devastate Yankees fans everywhere by sweeping the team in four games in the Championship Series.
The Phillies’ story has been quite different these playoffs, as they barely got in as the lowest seed (sixth) with a record of 87-75. As the lowest seed, they were forced to play one more whole series than Houston and faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card round. The team unexpectedly swept the 93-69 Cards in two games to advance behind some dominant performances late in the games.
They then went on to face the number two seed and heavily favored Atlanta Braves (101-61) who were looking to repeat a championship after winning it all last year. The Phillies had other plans, however, and took out the Braves in four games to advance to the championship series; they dominated the five-seed San Diego Padres, who put together a great run for themselves this year, as well, to clinch a World Series berth.
There are some interesting matchups and key players to watch in the World Series for both teams. The face of the Astros, second baseman Jose Altuve, started the playoffs on a skid like no other, going 0-25—breaking the record for most at-bats without a hit to start a postseason. He will need to get back to regular season form if the Astros want to take it all this season. Rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena has been electric for the team this year, accumulating a .303 batting average, and RBIs to start the playoffs. Ace Justin Verlander has not been himself in these playoffs, after giving up seven earned runs in 10 innings pitched this postseason. He needs to be on his A-game for them to win it all.
The Phillies have been slugging recently and will look to continue with superstar designated hitter Bryce Harper hitting .419 in the playoffs with five home runs and eleven runs batted in. The rest of the top of the lineup has been explosive as well, with outfielder Kyle Schwarber and first baseman Rhys Hoskins amassing at least three home runs and 9 runs batted in each. Their ace Aaron Nola has been better than Verlander, only giving six runs in 17.1 innings of work so far this postseason.
It looks as though this matchup will come down to whether or not the Phillies’ bats can continue their hot streak and work through the Astros’ star pitchers, as this World Series looks to be as exciting as any in recent memory.