Skip to main content

World Series Preview: Phillies vs. Astros

The Fall Classic is set to get underway on Friday with the Phillies opening on the road to take on the Astros in a best-of-seven series.

This year marks 75 years since the first time a World Series was televised and this year each game will be broadcast on the FOX television network.  ESPN will have the radio broadcast and that feed can be streamed by using this link.

Game 1 Friday, 8:03pm Eastern....in Houston.  RHP Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75 ERA).  In 16 road starts during the regular season this year, Nola notched a 5-9 record with a 3.00 ERA.  Nola has struck out 18 and walked three in 17 1/3 innings pitched this postseason.  Earlier this month, Nola tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings at Houston.  In 15 home starts during the regular season, Verlander sported a 10-1 record with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  Verlander has a 5.68 ERA and has not recorded a win in seven career World Series starts.  Verlander has 11 starts allowing one run or fewer in his postseason career.

Game 2 Saturday, 8:03pm Eastern....in Houston.  RHP Zack Wheeler (12-7, 2.82 ERA) vs. LHP Framber Valdez (17-6, 2.82 ERA).  Wheeler's home/road ERA splits this year during the regular season- 1.85/3.84.  Wheeler has tallied a 1.78 ERA in four starts this postseason.  Wheeler, who will be pitching on five days rest, has a 2.57 ERA this year in 11 starts when pitching on five days rest.  Valdez, a 28-year-old, led the American League in innings pitched this year with 201 1/3.  Valdez, an All-Star this year, was charged with two losses in Houston's losing effort in the World Series last year.  

Game 3 Monday, 8:03pm Eastern....in Philadelphia.  Pitching match ups have not been firmly announced, but the Phillies will likely go with Ranger Suarez in this spot with the Astros using Cristian Javier.  Suarez sported a 4.27 ERA in 13 home starts during the regular season this year.  The 25-year-old Javier has a 2.70 ERA in 13 career postseason starts.

Game 4 Tuesday, 8:03pm Eastern...in Philadelphia.

Game 5 (if necessary) Wednesday, 8:03pm Eastern....in Philadelphia.

Game 6 (if necessary) Friday Nov 3rd, 8:03pm Eastern...in Houston.

Game 7 (if necessary) Saturday Nov 4th, 8:03pm Eastern...in Houston.

The Phillies opened the season with a 22-29 record under manager Joe Girardi.  The team moved on from him on June 3rd, replacing him with bench coach Rob Thomson, who went on to lead the Phils to a 65-46 record.  

The Phillies' team batting average went from .245 under Girardi to .257 under Thomson.  The staff ERA also saw an improvement, going from 4.05 under Girardi to 3.93 under Thomson.

Houston third baseman Alex Bregman, a two-time All-Star, is a .188 hitter with five homers and 15 RBI in 20 World Series games.  Bregman has driven in seven runs in seven postseason games this year.

Slugger Yordan Alvarez is 7-for-35 (.200 avg) in seven postseason games this year.  The 25-year-old left fielder/designated hitter drove in just one run in the Astros' four-game sweep of the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

In the 2016 World Series as a member of the Cubs, Kyle Schwarber batted .412.  Schwarber, the National League's reigning home run king, blasted three home runs in the National League Championship Series against the Padres.

Phillies designated hitter Bryce Harper is batting .391 through 11 postseason games this year.  Harper posted a .923 OPS on the road during the regular season this year, compared to his .820 OPS at home.

Centerfielder Brandon Marsh is 4-for-7 (.571 avg) with a double against Cristian Javier in his career and has gone 3-for-9 (.333 avg) when facing Lance McCullers Jr.  Marsh was 0-for-13 in the NLCS.  

While the Phillies are returning to the championship round for the first time since 2009, the Astros are there for the second straight year and the fourth time in six years.  Cheers and enjoy the show.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...

Anthony Gose Q&A

A prospect who has been talked about a whole lot lately is outfielder Anthony Gose. Gose, a 2nd round pick of the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft played just 11 games for the Gulf Coast League Phillies last year, before getting hurt. Gose, an 18 year older, stole his minor league leading 36th base on Tuesday night, is batting .253 with 21 RBI and 29 runs scored, in 49 games with the Lakewood BlueClaws. Gose took some time to answer some questions for PhoulBallz.com, and here's how that went down... -I've spoken with the coaching staff and they're impressed with you this year. Tim Gradoville even compared your baserunning to Shane Victorino. Can I get your response to the coaches' positive view of your game and speed? I think it's great. I don't watch too many Phillie games. I'm from LA, I'm a big Dodger fan. So, I've never seen too much of how Victorino steals bases. I know they call him the Flyin' Hawaiian. I know he's fast. -Travis D...