The Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros meet Saturday in game 2 of the MLB World Series at Minute Maid Park. The Philadelphia Phillies look to take a surprising 2-0 series lead. The Houston Astros need a win to even up the series at 1-1.
The Philadelphia Phillies offense continues to produce, as their comeback win now gives them 4 or more runs in 5 straight games. The Phillies are 8-1 this postseason when scoring 4 or more runs, and they’ve won 13 of their last 16 games overall when scoring 4 or more runs. Bryce Harper leads the Phillies with 20 hits and 11 RBI, while J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos have combined for 22 hits and 13 RBI. Zack Wheeler gets the ball, and he was 12-7 with a 2.82 ERA and 163 strikeouts this season. Wheeler is 1-1 with a 1.78 ERA and 25 strikeouts in his postseason career.
The Houston Astros pitching fell apart in game 1 as they suffered their first loss of the postseason. The Astros have now allowed 11 runs in their last 2 games, and it’s just the third time in their 8 games they’ve given up more than 2 runs. Yuli Gurriel leads the Astros with 13 hits and 3 RBI, while Alex Bregman and Jeremy Pena have combined for 22 hits and 12 RBI. Framber Valdez gets the ball, and he was 17-6 with a 2.82 ERA and 194 strikeouts this season. Valdez is 5-2 with a 3.83 ERA and 57 strikeouts in his postseason career.
The Phillies are 4-0 in their last 4 Saturday games and 1-4 in their last 5 during game 2 of a series. The Astros are 4-0 in their last 4 Saturday games and 6-2 in their last 8 during game 2 of a series. The over is 5-2 in Phillies last 7 overall. The under is 5-1 in Astros last 6 overall. The Phillies are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Houston.
The Houston Astros are a veteran team that's been there done that, so you'd assume they'd bounce back. However, if game 1s win isn't a sign that the Phillies have that magic touch, I don't know what is. The Phillies just find ways to win games. Period. Also, you can argue the Phillies have the pitching edge with Zack Wheeler, a guy who had a 2.82 ERA on the season and has allowed 5 runs in 25.1 postseason innings. Framber Valdez had a 3.54 ERA at home this season, compared to a 2.27 ERA on the road. The Astros possibly win this game, but the value is with the Phillies and the plus money.
