2022 MLB Postseason- Championship Series Review & World Series Preview
For two series that looked to be relatively even, this season's championship series weren't very close. While I picked both winners correctly, I greatly overestimated how well the Yankees and Padres would play. The Yankees couldn't do anything right and the Padres, while fighting until the end, only mustered one win. It seems to fit the theme of the postseason with only two series going down to a deciding game. Here's a look back at the two championship series and a look at how I think the World Series is going to play out.
Game 1- It didn't look like the Yankees were too tired after their tight series with Cleveland. Harrison Bader kept his momentum going by hitting his fourth home run of the postseason in the top of the second to open the scoring. The Astros, well-rested after their sweep, responded quickly in the bottom of the second with an RBI double from Martin Maldonado. Houston would get ahead with two home runs in the sixth inning from Yuli Guerriel and Chas McCormick and then a third solo shot from Jeremy Pena, who also hit two doubles in the game, in the bottom of the seventh. Anthony Rizzo hit the fifth home run of the game in the top of the eighth inning to bring the Yankees back within two runs, but Ryan Pressly picked up a four-out save to win the game and take the early series lead.
Game 2- It felt like the two teams decided they get the offense out of the way early to make way for some brilliant pitching. All of Houston's runs came on one swing from Alex Bregman as he sent a three-run home run almost to the train tracks in left field to take a 3-0 lead in the third inning. The Yankees chipped into the deficit with two runs in the top of the fourth inning courtesy of Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres. Both runs were unearned thanks to Framber Valdez bobbling and throwing the ball away before the Yankees put the runs across. Those would be the only mistakes Valdez would make across his seven innings. He would finish his start with nine strikeouts and the bullpen get the Yankees from scoring again to sweep the first two games in Houston before traveling to New York.
Game 3- The series hit the Big Apple and the Astros were not phased at all. Behind 5.1 solid innings from Christian Javier, a two-run home run from Chas McCormick in the second inning, and three insurance runs in the sixth inning, the Astros stormed New York. They beat Gerrit Cole in a pivotal win to kill almost any chance of the Yankees gaining a pulse in this championship series. In Cole's defense, he wasn't terrible. He just made too many mistakes, the home run being the biggest of them. He didn't get much help from the offense, mustering just three hits the entire game, two of them coming in the ninth inning. More important than anything that happened in the game, it felt like the fans in New York gave up. They didn't stick around for the end and didn't seem too pleased with the product on the field.
Game 4- To the Yankees' credit, they didn't give up. They came out in this one with a purpose and took it to the Astros early. Singles from Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres in the first inning and a double from Anthony Rizzo in the second gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead through two innings and gave everyone a little bit of hope. The first batter reached for the Astros in the third inning, setting the stage for Jeremy Pena to tie it with one swing of the bat. They'd bat around in the inning, scoring another run to take a 4-3 lead. Rizzo would knock in his third run of the game in the fourth and Harrison Bader hit his fifth home run in the sixth to give the Yankees their second lead of the game. No matter how hard the Yankees fought, the Astros were just too much. Yordan Alvarez singled to tie the game and Alex Bregman gave Houston the lead for good with another RBI single shortly after. Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly threw two perfect innings, ending the Yankees' season, continuing New York's decade-plus without a title, and sending the Astros to their fourth World Series in six seasons.
MVP- Ryan Pressly (3 Saves, 3.1 Scoreless Innings, 0 H, BB, 6 K)
National League Championship Series- Philadelphia Phillies defeat the San Diego Padres, 4-1
Game 1- With Zach Wheeler and Yu Darvish on the mound to start the series, you knew runs were going to be at a premium. That was definitely the case. Turns out hits would be at a premium for San Diego because they only managed one in nine innings as Wheeler went seven innings, walking one and striking out eight. Darvish also went seven innings, but he made two big mistakes. The first came in the fourth inning as Bryce Harper sent a towering drive over the left-field fence to score the first run of the series. Two innings later, Kyle Schwaber hit a mammoth blast 488 feet into the second deck at Petco Park to double the lead. It would be more than enough to secure the first win in the series.
Game 2- After barely any offense in Game 1, things really opened up in Game 2. The Phillies got started early, scoring four runs in the top of the second inning. The Padres finally got on the board with back-to-back solo home runs from Brandon Drury and Josh Bell in the bottom of the inning off of Aaron Nola. After a couple of scoreless frames, San Diego erupted for five runs in the bottom of the fifth with Drury putting them ahead with a two-run single. Manny Machado belted the third solo home run of the night in the bottom of the seventh and though Rhys Hoskins tried to get something going with a home run in the eighth, it wouldn't be enough as San Diego tied the series before making their way to Philadelphia.
Game 3- With the Phillies back at home for two games, Kyle Schwarber felt it imperative to get things off to a quick start. He led off the bottom of the first inning with his second home run of the series. After the Padres tied the game in the top of the fourth inning, Jean Segura cracked a two-run single to right field to take the lead and it would stay that way for good. Each side would trade runs through the end of the game and they'd hold on for a 4-2 victory. The Phillies' bullpen bent but did not break after a solid start from Ranger Suarez. While they allowed five hits as a staff, Seranthony Dominguez completed the six-out save to put the series back in the Phillies' favor.
Game 4- Needing to rebuild some momentum, the Padres took it to Bailey Falter in the first inning. After the first two batters got out, Manny Machado opened the scoring with a solo shot before a single, a walk, and a two-run double from Brandon Drury made it 3-0 to end Falter's day without getting the third out. A single off his reliever made it 4-0 Padres and they were working early. Falter still had a better day than Mike Clevinger. The Padres starter faced four batters. He allowed a single to Kyle Schwarber, a two-run home run to Rhys Hoskins, walked JT Realmuto, and an RBI double to Bryce Harper as he was chased with getting an out. After the Phillies tied it in the fourth, Juan Soto hit a two-run home run to regain the lead. It would be short-lived as Hoskins hit another two-run home run, Harper hit another RBI double, and Nick Castellanos singled home another run in a four-run fifth for Philadelphia. Schwarber and Realmuto would add solo home runs in the later inning to push the lead to 10-6 and the Padres couldn't recover as they found themselves on the verge of heading home for the winter.
Game 5- This is one of those games that is going to live in Philadelphia lore forever because of one swing. Rhys Hoskins continued to ride the hot stick, hitting another two-run home run in the third inning off of Yu Darvish to kick off the scoring for the Phillies. The Padres slowly worked their way back into it. Juan Soto hit his second home run in as many games to get one back in the fourth off of Zach Wheeler. After a lead-off single ended Wheeler's day in the seventh, Seranthony Dominguez took over and had a rough outing. First, he gave up an RBI double to Josh Bell to tie the game. He'd then proceed to throw three wild pitches, allowing the go-ahead run to score with the third one. This left the Phillies with three innings to find an answer. After going quietly in the seventh inning, they found their magic in the eighth. JT Realmuto led off the inning against Robert Suarez with a single, bringing Bryce Harper to the plate as the go-ahead run. Seven pitches into his at-bat, Harper sent the ball high into left field. The ball would barely escape the field as it landed in the first row as Citizens Bank Park erupted. The dugout was going nuts. The fans in the stands were going nuts. Harper was calm and collected as he rounded the bases, putting the Phillies up with three outs to go. The ninth inning was an adventure as the Padres got down to their last out with runners on second and third. On the first pitch from Ranger Suarez to Austin Nola, he lifted a weak fly ball to right field that was brought in by Nick Castellanos as the Phillies finished the Padres to advance to the World Series for the first time since 2009.
MVP- Kyle Schwarber (6-15, 6 R, 6 BB, 3 HR, 4 RBI, .571 OBP)
World Series Preview- Houston Astros v. Philadelphia Phillies
The Road to the World Series
Houston
106-56, AL West Champions, #1 Seed in AL
ALDS- Defeated Seattle 3-0
ALCS- Defeated New York 4-0
Philadelphia
87-75, 3rd in NL East, 3rd Wild Card
Wild Card- Defeated St. Louis 2-0
NLDS- Defeated Atlanta 3-1
NLCS- Defeated San Diego 4-1
Top Postseason Performers
Houston
Jeremy Pena (10-33, 7 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI)
The MVP of the ALCS, Pena has a bit of a clutch factor going for him right now. He hit the three-run home run to get back into Game 4 and scored the eventual winning run in the series-deciding game. He's building off an amazing rookie season, replacing Carlos Correa at shortstop, and has brought it in his first postseason.
Alex Bregman (10-30, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .375 OBP)
A former AL MVP, Bregman has arguably been the Astros' most consistent hitter through seven games. He has a hit in all but one game this postseason and has two huge home runs, one in each of their series. It's also hard to ignore his postseason pedigree. He doesn't have the best track record in the World Series, so he could be looking to put one together.
Framber Valdez (1-0, 2 GS, 12.2 Innings, 8 H, 4 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 15 K)
Valdez seems to have shaken off his rough performances in last season's World Series. He was incredible during the regular season and has been the Astros' best starter in their two sweeps. His 15 strikeouts lead the team in just under 13 innings and he's done a good job of limiting chances. He's another guy likely looking for some redemption in the World Series.
Philadelphia
Bryce Harper (18-43, 10 R, 6 2B, 5 HR, 11 RBI, .444 OBP, .907 SLG)
After signing with Philadelphia, Harper promised he'd bring a World Series to Washington. While easily a slip of the tongue, he's now earned his chance to bring one to Philadelphia. He's been the early MVP of the postseason, winning NLCS MVP after a huge series against San Diego. The key to Philadelphia's success is going to be Harper staying hot.
Zach Wheeler (1-1, 4 GS, 25.1 Innings, 10 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 25 K)
No pitcher has thrown more innings in this postseason than Wheeler, tossing over 25 innings across four starts. It's hard to believe this is his time pitching in the postseason in his career. He's pitched at least six innings in all four starts and in his lone loss, he wasn't given any run support. The Phillies will likely try to get him out there twice this series in the hopes of winning two more times.
Seranthony Dominguez (1-0, 6 Games, 7.2 Innings, 3 H, R, 0 BB, 15 K)
While Jose Alvarado has been used more frequently, Dominguez has been the strongest arm out of the bullpen for Philadelphia. Outside of a rough outing against the Padres in Game 5, he's been stellar. He's allowed just one game in six appearances, picked up a six-out save against the Padres, and has allowed just three baserunners. He'll be a major presence at the end of games in this series.
Season Series-It is purely a coincidence that these two teams played their final series of the season against each other in early October. The Phillies won the opener behind two home runs from Kyle Schwaber, a solo shot from Bryson Stott, and 6.2 shutout innings from Aaron Nola in a 3-0 win for Philadelphia. Houston responded the next day with three home runs off of Ranger Suarez in the first two innings as Justin Verlander struck out ten in five innings in an easy 10-0 win for the Astros. After a blowout victory, Houston picked up a tight 3-2 victory as Christian Vazquez's late home run was enough to back up a great start from Framber Valdez.
Three Things to Watch
1. Will Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker finally wake up?
The Astros are a loaded team on paper by name alone. They feature some former MVPs and several players that have won a World Series. As well as they've played, the Astros have done their damage without the help of both Altuve and Tucker. Altuve is just three hits and Tucker has six hits and one home run. As much as they've been able to skate by, they're going to need a full complement of players to beat this Phillies' pitching staff.
2. How do the Phillies manage their rotation?
The key to success for the Phillies thus far has relied on getting Wheeler and Nola out there as much as they can. Wheeler is one of two pitchers with four starts and Nola has three. Both are going to be well-rested when they take the mound for their first starts as Nola is projected for Game 1 and Wheeler is for Game 2. Ideally, they'd be back out there for a second time for Games 4, 5, or 6. Obviously, I think it will also depend on where they are in the series. If they're ahead, they may wait to bring them out again.
3. What type of advantage will the Philadelphia crowd give them for Game 3-5?
This is starting to become the expectation for Houston as they are set to host another World Series. For Philadelphia, it's been a long time coming. We saw in both the NLDS and NLCS that the fans at Citizen Bank Park can be a difference-maker, especially during the Padres series. The Astros are going into hostile territory unlike any they've experienced in their recent trips. It's clear that the Phillies have fed off the crowd in their home games, winning each game at home thus far.
Prediction
It's very fitting that a team that wouldn't have been in the postseason last season has made it to the World Series in the first year after the change. The problem for Philadelphia is that they'll be facing the best team in the American League. To the Phillies' advantage, they are easily the more battle-tested team. They've beaten two division champions, including the defending champions, and a solid San Diego team. Houston is yet to lose, so we aren't sure how they'll react to losing should they lose in this series. If the Phillies can split the first two games in Houston, it should put them in a good place for the next three games in Philadelphia. Everything about the Phillies is on fire right now. As good as they are right now, I think the ride ends here. The Astros are the better team and will show it in a series that will be much closer than we probably expect. Houston over Philadelphia in six games. (MVP- Yordan Alvarez)
Comments
Post a Comment