Philadelphia Phillies at Houston Astros 10/29/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The 2022 World Series will get underway on Friday night, when the Philadelphia Phillies take on the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. The Phillies (87-85) finished a game below .500 on the road and finished 18th in the majors with a 3.97 team ERA. In Game Five of the league championship series, OF Bryce Harper’s two-run blast in the eighth inning lifted Philadelphia to a 4-3 home victory versus San Diego. 

Twenty-nine year old righty Aaron Nola (11-13 3.25 ERA) will take the mound for the Phillies in this matchup. Through 205 regular season innings, Nola ranked fourth in the National League with 235 strikeouts and seventh with a 0.96 WHIP.

The Houston Astros finished second in the majors with a 2.90 team ERA and have lowered it to 1.88 during their postseason run. On Monday, Houston wrapped up a four-game sweep against the New York Yankees with a 6-5 road victory. The Astros (106-56) took advantage of an error by SS Gleyber Torres to rally for two runs in the seventh inning. Houston SS Jeremy Pena homered and drove in three runs.

Houston manager Dusty Baker will counter with two-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander (18-4 1.75 ERA) in the series opener. In his last start, Verlander struck out 11 batters and allowed one run to lead Houston to a 4-2 home victory versus New York.