The Houston Astros are the 2022 World Series Champions after a brutal six games against the Phillies. It was a tremendous up-and-down battle with some great pitching and clutch hits.
Game 1: Phillies (0-1)
The Phillies took game one after a brutal back-and-forth 10-inning game. On the bump for the Astros, Justin Verlander displayed his World Series curse by allowing five earned runs in five very long innings. Conversely, Aaron Nola did worse with five earned runs in four and two-thirds innings. Surprisingly, the losing and winning pitchers for the night were relievers; for the Phillies, Seranthony Dominguez pitched in the eighth inning and got the win because Luis Garcia, for Houston, gave up a run to put the Phillies up 6 to 5 in the tenth inning. This is all David Robertson needed to close out the tenth and get the save.
The MVP of this game goes to Kyle Tucker. Although he is on the losing team, Tucker hit two home runs in back-to-back innings and accounted for four out of five of Houston’s runs.
Game 2: Astros (1-1)
The Astros hold their early lead to tie the series up in game two. The losing pitcher for game two was Zack Wheeler, who gave up four runs in five innings. Although he did better than his game-one predecessor, Wheeler faced a dominant Houston defense. They were led by Framber Valdez, who went six and one-third innings, giving up only one run and striking out six. After the Astros put up an early five to zero lead, the rest of the game went smoothly, with Ryan Pressly closing the game out in the ninth.
The game two MVP goes to Framber Valdez because of his dominating performance in a World Series game. His primary tool was that disgusting curveball and sinker combo; the sinker averaged around 96 mph with 20 inches of arm-side run, and the curveball was sitting at approximately 81 mph and had almost 2 feet of drop.
Game 3: Phillies (1-2)
The Phillies destroy, putting up seven runs and five home runs. The new Houston pitcher, Lance McCullers, goes four and one-third innings giving up seven runs and five homers. The significant underdog of the matchup, Ranger Suarez, dominated with five shutout innings; the crafty lefty used his sinker to get many ground balls, leading to fast and efficient innings.
The home run hitters for the night are Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh, Kyle Schwarber, and Rhys Hoskins, but MVP, of course, goes to Ranger Suarez. One of the reasons for the Phillies’ impressive offensive performance was Lance McCullers tipped his pitches. For example, on breaking balls, he would lift his leg differently and hold his glove at an angle, and the timing would be different. (As seen below)
The honorable mention is Jose Urquidy for the Astros; after already being down seven to zero, he went out there and pitched three strong innings with four strikeouts and only allowing one hit against a rallying Phillies lineup.
Game 4: Astros (2-2)
The Astros come back with a dominant performance of their own. For the Phillies, Aaron Nola reappears but gets a loss after giving up three runs in four innings. One would have been too many, considering the Astros’ pitching combined for a no-hitter, the second no-hitter in World Series history. It started with Christian Javier, who went six innings and struck out nine. Then Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly all got an inning a piece to close out the no-no.
The MVP is Christian Javier, with by far the most dominant performance of this world series. He dominated with his 96 mph four-seam and disgusting sweeper(slider). Those pitches would tunnel very well to keep hitters guessing where the pitch would end up.
Game 5: Astros (3-2)
The Astros battle and come out on top for the first two in a row win. The Phillies had Noah Syndergaard on the bump, who pitched rather well, giving up only two runs. The World Series underdog, Justin Verlander, broke his curse and gave Houston a dominant five innings. Although Kyle Schwarber hit a solo home run on the second pitch, Verlander struck out six, only allowed that one run, and got the win. This game was a low-scoring battle with no two runs coming in the same half-inning.
The MVP goes to Justin Verlander and his dominant comeback performance. His three pitches, fastball(95mph), curveball(79mph), and slider(87mph), were all working very well. He would dominate Phillies’ best hitters like Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, and Kyle Schwarber with his most effective sequence: curveball first pitch, then fastball high(looks like the curve at first, so hitters swing), and he would either go to another high fastball or a low slider(tunnels with fastball very well, causing swing and misses).
Game 6: Astros finish the Job! (4-2)
The Astros are 2022 World Series champions; with newfound momentum from game 5, the Astros seal the deal on the Phillies. Jack Wheeler went out there and gave it everything he got as the Phillies’ last hope; he did fine, giving up only two runs in five and third innings. However, Philly’s regular season star reliever, Jose Alvarado, gave up two of Wheeler’s runs and two of his own, enough runs for Framber Valdez to get another win. Valdez went six innings and destroyed Phillies’ hitters, striking out nine and only allowing two hits. On the offensive side, Houston’s rising star, Yordan Alvarez, stole the spotlight with a three-run bomb off Alvarado. The homer was hit precisely 450 feet, with a 112.5 mph exit velo and perfectly over the center field wall.
MVP: Jeremy Peña
Jeremy Peña was awarded the Willie Mays 2022 World Series trophy. Not many expected Peña to win it, but he performed very well. Peña hit a .400 batting average and a .600 slugging average, accounting for eight of the Astros’ runs. He was pretty much lights out on defense, with only one error over six games at shortstop. Also, Jeremy Peña is a rookie, he is one of five rookies to win World Series MVP in history.
Dusty Baker: Finally
Dusty Baker is one of history’s most valuable and well-respected baseball-related people. Whether one was cheering for the Astros or Phillies, they were silently rooting for Dusty to get his first ring as a manager. He played in the league for 19 years(1968-1987) as an outfielder and was a pretty valuable asset to the Braves, Dodgers, Giants, and A’s. Dusty Baker had the most significant impact and value as a manager; he went to the World Series with the Giants in 2002 but lost in seven games to the Angels. His Astros went back in 2019 but lost to the Braves. In 2022, with a 73-year-old Dusty, the Astros won it all.
