Predictions As The Phillies Face-Off Against the Astros in Game 4
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Philadelphia - The Phillies have won two games in the World Series and are 2-1 out of the best-of-seven series. The franchise is two wins away from taking their third World Series title.
Luckily for Philadelphia for game four, they are at home yet again. In the postseason thus far, they have been 6-0 in Philly, so there is confidence that the Phillies will continue their winning streak tonight. Looking even further, game five is also at Citizens Bank Park. If they keep the momentum up at home, who’s to say the Phillies can’t clinch the next two games and secure the World Series?
The Astros on the other hand could play their best players tonight, but instead they declined the offer. They aren’t bringing back Justin Verlander for game four, choosing instead to give him a day off. Verlander was their game one starter, so if they passed up the chance to put themselves in a position to go 2-2 in the series, the decision will be questioned.
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola, their game one starter, can make a comeback this game thanks to the rain delay during game three. Philadelphia's hope is that he can bounce back from the five runs that he gave up in a bit over four innings during game one. He’s had some rough starts this postseason but with the momentum of the team behind him, the expectation is that he raises the bar for the fourth game of this World Series.
The Astros on the other hand are playing pitcher Christian Javier. Besides game one of the Atlantic League Division Series in which he threw just over one inning, and game three of the Atlantic League Championship Series where he allowed just one hit, this will be his first career start in the World Series.
The Astros rested their relievers in game three which means that players like Rafael Montero, Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu, and Ryan Pressly are ready for game four. However, this is not such a big advantage over Philadelphia as the Phillies have a solid bullpen tonight.
But looking at the Astros, they do not have any injuries at the moment while the Phillies do have Zach Wheeler out until about game six. Besides the energy they are bringing to their game, the Phillies are also at an advantage with Bryce Harper on their side. Just this postseason he has slammed six home runs, the second most in Phillies postseason history. He also has 12 base hits, proving he is a postseason machine for the Phillies.
Though the Phillies are coming in hot from their shut out game in the series against the Astros, this is not a huge accomplishment. This is because the Astros have been shut out in three of their last seven World Series games.
This game, however, is of most importance for the Phillies. In the past seven World Series, teams up 3-1 won the series upwards of 80% of the time. If the Phillies win tonight, they have a more than certain chance of taking the World Series title.
