Two of the hottest teams in baseball will meet to crown Major League Baseball’s champion. The Philadelphia Phillies will wrap up their celebration and head to Houston, where the Astros will host Game 1 of the World Series on Friday at 8:03 p.m. ET at Minute Maid Park.
Houston has won nine straight games, and its last loss was to Phillies ace Aaron Nola on Oct. 3. Two of those wins included the Astros closing out the regular season with a series win. With that victory, the Phillies clinched their first postseason berth since 2011.
Expecting a close game, as most baseball odds are, the Phillies are +1.5 (-160) to the Astros -1.5 (+135) with a total of 6.5 runs (-120 over, +100 under). The Astros are favored to win Game 1 on the moneyline at -175 to the Phillies +145.
Phillies seek second title in 14 years
It’s the third World Series appearance for the Phillies, last winning the title in 2008. Interim manager Rob Thomson will send Nola back to the mound for Game 1. He did not allow an earned run in his first two starts, but the Padres scoring six runs off him made his ERA balloon to 3.12 across 17.1 innings pitched. He went 6.2 scoreless in his final regular-season start against the Astros.
The Phillies offense carried the way through the regular season, ranking seventh in runs per game at 4.71 per contest and ranking eighth in batting average (.253) and OPS (.739). The pitching has picked up in the postseason after ranking 16th in allowing 4.32 runs per game.
Astros hope dynasty continues
Established in 1962, the Astros only had one World Series appearance before the recent dynasty began, and that was in 2005. However, this is the second straight World Series berth and the fourth in the last six years representing the American League. The only win, however, was in 2017, which is tainted by the sign-stealing scandal. It’s remarkable how the Astros have maintained their success though having lost key players such as Gerrit Cole and Carlos Correa in free agency in recent history.
Houston finished the season as the second-best defensive team, allowing 3.23 runs per game, limiting opponents to a .212 batting average, and tops in holding teams to a .613 OPS. Offensively they were ninth in scoring at 4.59 runs per game while 12th in batting average (.248) and seventh in OPS (.743).
Phillies/Astros Betting Prediction
The Astros are 59-26 at home, and the Phillies are 44-43 on the road, and are 1-4 in the last five meetings in Houston. This game could come down to the long ball, where the Astros were fourth at 1.35 per contest, and Philly was sixth at 1.29 per contest.
Game 1 is critical, and we like the Astros to take the opener in a close game: Astros -175, Phillies +1.5 (-160), Over 6.5 runs.
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