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When the Major League Baseball Playoffs started, we doubt that many people had the Philadelphia Phillies playing the Houston Astros in the World Series. After the Phillies caught fire in the postseason, they’re ready to play in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night at Houston’s Minute Maid Park.

Heading into the postseason, the Astros were one of the top favorites to win the World Series at +800. The Phillies odds were a +3500 prior to the start of the postseason. Heading into the World Series, the Astros are a huge favorite at -185, with the Phillies being the big underdog at +150.

Here’s a quick preview of each of the two teams.

Favorite to Win the 2022 World Series

Houston Astros

It’s hard to pick against the Houston Astros. They had the best record in the American League this season. Thus far in the postseason, Houston has yet to lose a game. They swept the Seattle Mariners in three games, and then earned a berth in the World Series by winning four straight games over the New York Yankees.

The Astros are led by the powerful bat of Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez has been hot and cold in the postseason, but he did hit .306 with 37 home runs and 97 RBI in the regular season. Alvarez also missed time with injury issues during the regular season. While Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, and Jose Altuve struggled during the postseason, they were picked up by some others.

Alex Bregman had some clutch hits, while rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena batted .353 in the American League Championship Series. Chas McCormick also had some big hits in the postseason. Houston knows that even when their big bats are struggling that they’ll have someone that will come through.

The biggest reason that the Astros have been unstoppable in the playoffs is because of their pitching staff. The combination of Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia, and Lance McCullers Jr. has been lethal. They held the New York Yankees to a .162 batting average with 50 strikeouts. We also can’t leave out the very good bullpen as well.

Philadelphia Phillies

Late into September, it was questionable as to whether or not the Phillies would even make the playoffs. They got in, and the rest is history. The Phillies beat the Cardinals in two games to advance to take on the Atlanta Braves. After beating the Braves in four games, they then beat the Padres in five games to win the NLCS.

Two of the main reasons the Philadelphia Phillies are here are Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper. The two top power hitters on the Phillies caught fire in the postseason and have helped propel Philadelphia to the World Series. Harper hit .400 in the NLCS with two homers, including the game-winner in Game 5. Hoskins has also hit some huge home runs this postseason.

Philadelphia’s top two starters, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, are strikeout machines. When these two are on, they’re hard to hit. Wheeler has been dominant in the postseason, and many think he’ll get the ball in Game 1.