The Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros will match up in the 2022 World Series. Both teams had very different routes here. Let’s take a look at them.
The Phillies were counted out by many in early June. They were 22-29 and had just fired their manager, Joe Girardi. Bench coach Rob Thomson took over as interim manager. With Thomson, the Phillies began to win a lot. They were in playoff contention in late September, but were swept by the Chicago Cubs, which had ended many hopes for their fans. But on October 3, the Phillies clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2011. They were matched up against the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card. They swept St. Louis, took down the defending champion Atlanta Braves in 4 games in the NLDS, and then defeated the San Diego Padres in 5 games in the NLCS to reach their first World Series in 13 years. NLCS MVP Bryce Harper hit a dramatic home run in the 8th inning of Game 5 to send Philadelphia to the Fall Classic.
Houston was dominant throughout the year, winning 106 games and finishing with the best record in the American League. Big bats like Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez led the way for the Astros. They swept the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees in the ALDS and ALCS, respectively, making them the 3rd team since 1995 to reach the World Series without losing a playoff game.
Now, here’s my prediction for this series.
On paper, the Astros are clearly the better team. But as a Phillies fan, I would love for them to put up a fight. I think that’s what they’ll do, but it won’t be enough.
Prediction: Astros in 7
We’ll see what happens.
