The Philadelphia Phillies had the second-best outcome in the opening of the 2022 World Series splitting the first two games on the road against the Houston Astros. The Fall Classic resumes in Philly with one team having the chance to take a commanding lead when the clubs square off in Game 4 on Wednesday night. Home field truly has been an advantage for the Phils, who went 5-0 in the earlier rounds, including three straight over San Diego in the NLCS. Having home field advantage prevented the Astros from playing a lot of road games but they did a number in those three games tossing a pair of shutouts while winning all three.
Game 4 of the 2022 World Series between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies takes place on Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 8:03 p.m. ET from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The game will air live on FOX with betting options available at BookMaker.eu.
World Series Game 4 – Astros vs Phillies Odds
Houston Astros (Check Back Later)
Philadelphia Phillies (Check Back Later)
Total (Check Back Later)
Odds Analysis
With three straight games in Philly the Astros didn’t want to go down two games to none making Game 2 a must-win. And they didn’t flinch building a 5-0 lead for the second straight game but holding on this time to knot the series at 1-1. You certainly wouldn’t expect a team that won 106 regular season games to crumble and the Astros didn’t. They stayed composed after watching a five-run lead disappear in the opener with ace Justin Verlander faltering. Verlander gave up six hits and five runs in five innings.
No team has ever gone unbeaten in an entire postseason so the likelihood of the Astros losing a game increased with each win. And after sweeping the Mariners and Yankees to go 7-0 in the playoffs, it finally caught up with them. One thing the Astros did was respond to setbacks. Their longest losing streak over the final two months of the regular season was two games. And they were the best road team in the AL during the season winning 63 percent of their away games with that number climbing higher with a 3-0 postseason road ledger.
The Phillies have to be ecstatic about the results of the first two games getting a split in Houston. It might be unrealistic to expect a world championship, though, if the games play out the way they did. With Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber in the lineup the Phils can score runs. But coming back from five-run deficits is a tough task. They did it in Game 1 but didn’t have the magic in Game 2.
More concerning is that aces Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler were roughed up in the first two games and pitching hasn’t been a Phillies strong suit. Ranger Suarez was scheduled to pitch Game 3 but was moved back a day after tossing 11 pitches in a Game 1 relief appearance. Sunday’s off day gives the bullpen a rest and there’s a good chance the guys need it since they’re likely to get used quite a bit with Game 3 starter Noah Syndergaard tossing only 5.1 innings and Suarez having 9.2 innings under his belt this postseason.
Probable Pitchers
A deep pitching staff is one reason why the Astros had the best record in the AL with 106 regular season wins. Houston hasn’t officially named a starter as of this writing but all signs are pointing to 11-game winner Cristian Javier without much of a drop off from the first three starters. Javier was the team’s best hurler over the final month of the campaign allowing just six hits with 29 strikeouts over 23 innings of his last four regular season starts. His scoreless streak ended against Seattle when he offered up a home run in 1.1 innings of relief, but a return to the starting role against the Yanks saw him toss 5.1 shutout innings giving up one hit in the 5-0 Game 3 victory.
Suarez put together a strong season going 10-7 with a 3.65 ERA in 155.1 innings. He started all 29 games he appeared in this year but was used as a reliever a majority of the time during his first four seasons with the Phils. His last two postseason games were out of the pen picking up a save in the NLCS clincher over San Diego and getting two outs in Game 1. “We figure for Game 4 we can extend him out a little bit more than we could if he was pitching Game 3,” manager Rob Thompson said of the decision to move Suarez back a day. Suarez has a 1.86 ERA in four playoff games, including two starts, though he didn’t go past five innings in those two games.
World Series Game 4 – Astros vs Phillies Predictions
I had the Astros winning the series in six games and I’m sticking with that prediction. One of the reasons why is their depth on the hill. Javier is a solid No. 4 boasting a sub-3.00 ERA during the regular season and even if he struggles the bullpen will pick up the pieces.
Prediction: Houston Astros and OVER
