by Matthew Calvino
The 2022 World Series was a surprisingly competitive series, considering the predictions of an Astros sweep. When asked about the series’ potential outcome last week, students would usually blurt out phrases like “Astros in four” or “Astros in five.” Some of them were even grounded in what any young baseball fan would deem common sense, considering the Astros have arguably the most elite players in the league, from Jeremy Peña to Justin Verlander, a four-time Cy Young winner. However, the series was much more interesting and competitive than these predictions.
In the first game of the World Series, the Astros were at home starting Justin Verlander against Aaron Nola, a younger and definitely less impressive pitcher on the statics side. However, the Phillies surprise the Houston fans by turning around the 5-0 Astros lead with RBIs from Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm, and former Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, winning the first game 6-5. The second game of the series ends with a 5-2 win for the Astros, tying the series with notable scores from star rookie Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez, and Alex Bregman. Game three is marked with another moon-blasted 2-run homer by Bryce Harper and a first career home run in the postseason for Alec Bohm. One of the unique moments that may have been why the Phillies lead with a 7-2 lead was when Bryce Harper went to the dugout to tell the other hitters, specifically Alec Bohm, about the different “tells” that Astros pitcher Lance McCullers was giving when he was pitching, making him easy to read.
Game four was a 5-0 no-hitter at home for the Phillies, giving the Astros the win to tie the series 2-2. Game five was much tighter than any other game in the series. The Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber hit a home run to be then matched by a homer by Jeremy Peña and an RBI by Yordan Alvarez to end the game at 3-2. Game six became the deciding factor of the entire series. The Astros were now playing on their home turf and didn’t disappoint the fans in Houston, beating the Phillies by three with a score of four to one. Notably, the most crucial moment of the game was Yordan Alvarez’s three-run homer against star pitcher Zack Wheeler. This came right after a stretch of five no-run innings and a sudden Schwarber home run at the top of the six, only to be countered by Yordan’s homer in the same inning. That wrapped up the series with the Astros becoming World Series Champions for the second time.