The Houston Astros are favorites to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 World Series.
The Astros are -180 to win the championship in World Series odds released Monday morning. The Phillies are +150, according to FanDuel.
Game 1 of the best-of-7 series is scheduled for Friday at Houston.
Each team advanced to the World Series with a win Sunday. The Astros completed an ALCS sweep of the New York Yankees with a 6-5 Game 4 victory, hours after the Phillies eliminated the San Diego Padres with a 4-3 win in Game 5 of the NLCS.
The Phillies were the longest shot on the board when the MLB playoffs began, +4000 at Caesars. The Astros were the second choice at +380 to the Los Angeles Dodgers (+300), who were eliminated by the Padres in the NL Division Series.
In the first full-season postseason with six teams from each league, Philadelphia was the sixth seed in the National League after finishing third in the NL East, 14 games behind the Atlanta Braves. The Phillies defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Series and the Braves in the NLDS before knocking out the Padres.
“I think we always believed,” NLCS MVP Bryce Harper told MLB.com after Game 5 on Sunday. “There was no emotion that it wasn’t going to happen and that we weren’t going to be here. With these fans and this city, we’ve got four more. Let’s go get it.”
Houston was the top seed in the American League after winning the AL West. The Astros swept the Seattle Mariners in the AL Division Series and have won seven postseason games in a row.
Two other teams swept a Division Series and Championship Series, and neither won the World Series (2007 Colorado Rockies, 2014 Kansas City Royals).
The Astros and Phillies played each other in the final three games of the regular season at Houston. The Phillies won the opener 3-0 to clinch their playoff berth, then lost 10-0 and 3-2 in the season finale.
Houston is in the World Series for the second year in a row and the fourth time since 2017, when it won its only championship by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in five games. The Astros lost in seven games to the Washington Nationals in 2019 and in six games to the Braves last season.
Astros manager Dusty Baker has the most wins of any manager who has not won the World Series.
“They come to play every day, all day,” Baker said of his team. “… I’m actually proudest of going back to the World Series.”
The top three batters in the Houston order (Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez) were 6-for-12 with five runs scored and four RBIs in the clinching game Sunday. Astros relief pitchers have allowed three earned runs in 33 innings this postseason.
Rookie shortstop Pena was named ALCS MVP.
“We’re a unit, we show up ready to compete every single day,” Pena said. “Chemistry, you can’t match it.”
Philadelphia has not been in the World Series since 2009, when it lost to the Yankees in six games in an attempt at back-to-back championships. The Phillies defeated the Rays in seven games in 2008.
The Phillies were 22-29 on June 2 when they fired manager Joe Girardi and replaced him with bench coach Rob Thomson. They would be the first third-place team to win the World Series.
In the postseason, Harper is batting .419 with five home runs, six doubles and 11 RBIs. His two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth Sunday gave the Phillies their 4-3 lead.
“I believe our team is built for October, I really do,” Harper told ESPN during the NLCS. “I think we have three starters that are really, really good, and I think we have a great bullpen.”
Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber hit three home runs and scored six runs, and pitcher Zach Wheeler allowed two runs and four hits over 13 innings in two starts against the Padres.
Game 2 is at Houston on Saturday. Games 3, 4, and 5 (if necessary) are at Philadelphia next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Games 6 and 7 (if necessary) would be at Houston on Nov. 4 and 5.
