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.

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 73

Danny Ozark was the Phillies' manager from 1973-1979. During his tenure as the team's general, Ozark led Philadelphia to three straight division titles. In his playing days, Ozark was a first baseman, who was a career minor leaguer in the Dodgers system. When Ozark took over the team in 1973, the Phillies were fresh off 5 consecutive losing seasons and 3 straight last place finishes. During his first season in charge, the Phillies would again finish in last place, 20 games under .500, but as his core of young talent, like Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa, developed, the Phillies' win totals rose. Within 2 years, the Phillies were above .500 and in the playoff hunt until late in the season and the most successful era of Phillies history was about to begin. By 1976, the Phillies were headed to the post-season for the first time since 1950. The Phils would enjoy a 10-game lead over their nearest division rival at the midway point of the season. Despite a lul, which saw their lead d...

PhoulBallz Interview: First round pick Bryson Stott

Bryson Stott, image- Jay Floyd Shortstop Bryson Stott , the Phillies' first round draft selection this year, has enjoyed a successful initial pro campaign. En route to being recognized as an All-Star for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters the 21-year-old UNLV product has tallied a .295 average with six home runs and 25 RBI in 45 minor league contests. Last week I spoke with the lefty hitting Stott to discuss his transition to professional baseball, joining the Phillies organization and plenty more. Read ahead for that interview. -Obviously, your performance and the production on the field is going well, but how do you feel you have adapted to the pro life? It feels good. You hear about the everyday grind, but you don't really believe it till you feel it. I would say that's the difference between college and the pros, is you're not practicing, you're playing games every day. I would say that's the biggest difference. But I...

Velasquez shut down, Eflin on deck?

Eflin with Reading in 2015, image- Jay Floyd Following Vincent Velasquez leaving his start after just two pitches for the Phillies on Wednesday, righty prospect Zach Eflin was pulled from his start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley at Gwinnett. The 22-year-old sports a 5-1 record with a 3.14 ERA and a .210 batting average against in 10 starts for the IronPigs this season. He could take the place of Velasquez if he is required to miss any additional time. Initial word on Velasquez after he threw two fastballs that clocked in the 86-87 MPH range (considerably slower than the 94 MPH he averages) and was swiftly pulled from his outing, is that he has a biceps strain. He'll be further evaluated in the coming days. Prior to the regular season, Eflin got a taste of competing against big leaguers when he was charged with 12 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits while striking out two and walking one with a wild pitch in three innings of work in an intrasquad exhibition that pitted the Phils...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog