The Philadelphia Phillies managed to take one of the first two games of the 2022 World Series in Houston against the Astros.
Houston was undefeated in the postseason and had sent its ace Justin Verlander to the mound in Game 1, so winning that one was actually a big deal for the Phillies.
The Astros beat one of Philly’s aces, Zack Wheeler, in Game 2, which means we are back to square one: the two squads will now play a best-of-five series with three of them coming in Philadelphia.
Speaking of Philadelphia, Citizens Bank Park has been a fortress for the Phillies during the entire postseason.
the #WorldSeries shifts to Philly 🔊@Phillies | #RedOctober pic.twitter.com/J3h7pHkaYj
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 31, 2022
While playing at home, the Phillies are very hard to beat.
Philly Is Undefeated At Home In The 2022 Postseason
In fact, they haven’t lost there in the 2022 playoffs, with a 5-0 record and a total of 35 runs (a 7.0 average runs per game is magnificent).
Philadelphia hits more than two homers per game in Citizens Bank Park during postseason play, with 12 in just five games.
Their starters have a rock-solid 3.48 ERA, and the bullpen is even better, with a 1.85 ERA.
Much has been discussed about the Astros’ elite pitching and especially their bullpen, but the Phillies’ unit is not bad at all.
Seranthony Dominguez, David Robertson, Jose Alvarado, and are actually close to automatic in the playoffs, and the group as a whole (including arms like Connor Brogdon, Brad Hand, Andrew Bellatti, and more) has been better than expected.
Tonight, Noah Syndergaard will be tasked with keeping the Astros at bay, while Lance McCullers will toe the rubber for Houston.
It looks like a close matchup, as both teams try to take the pivotal Game 3.
