The 2022 World Series might not exactly be David vs. Goliath, but it doesn’t seem too far off from that.
The Astros tore through the American League in 2022, winning 106 games during the regular season — the second-most during its dynastic run that began in 2017 — and has not lost a playoff game. The Phillies won only 87 games and reached the playoffs as the last NL wild-card team, and they have had to grind out series wins against the reigning World Series champion Braves and a loaded Padres squad.
Philadelphia is not the typical underdog. The club has been loading up for this run for some time. It signed Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber as free agents and acquired J.T. Realmuto, Jean Segura and Noah Syndergaard in trades. Only the Mets, Dodgers and Yankees had a larger payroll in 2022.
The investments have paid off. Harper has been an integral part of the postseason run and Wheeler has given the team a dynamic 1-2 punch in the rotation with Aaron Nola.
MORE: Watch the 2022 World Series live with fuboTV (free trial)
But make no mistake, the Astros are the titan to beat. Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman have powered the team to another World Series, its fourth in six years, and the revitalized Justin Verlander has anchored a strong rotation that also includes Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia.
The 2022 Fall Classic opener will feature a highly anticipated pitching matchup between Nola and Verlander. Nola led all pitchers with 6.3 fWAR (Fangraphs’ wins above replacement), helped by a 3.25 ERA 29.1 percent strikeout rate and 3.6 percent walk rate. Verlander, who led American League pitchers with 6.1 fWAR, had a Cy Young-worthy campaign in his return from Tommy John surgery at age 39. He pitched to a 1.75 ERA in 175 innings with a 27.8 percent strikeout rate and 4.4 percent walk rate.
The Sporting News will be tracking live scores and highlights throughout Game 1 of the 2022 World Series. Follow for complete updates of the Phillies vs. Astros matchup.
Phillies vs. Astros score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phillies | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Astros | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Phillies vs. Astros live updates, highlights from 2022 World Series
All times Eastern
6:20 p.m.: Here’s a look at the two lineups for Friday night’s matchup.
Lineups for Game 1. #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/Ccp3lTNbGy
— Julia Morales (@JuliaMorales) October 28, 2022
World Series start time today
The 2022 World Series is expected to start at 8:03 p.m. ET, when Justin Verlander pitches to Kyle Schwarber to begin Game 1.
How to watch the 2022 World Series
- TV channel (U.S.): Fox
- TV channel (Canada): Sportsnet
- Live stream: fuboTV
All World Series games will be carried by Fox in the United States and Sportsnet in Canada. The Fox broadcast will be led by Joe Davis calling play-by-play with John Smoltz providing analysis from the booth. Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci will report from field level.
Streamers can find the game on the Fox Sports Go app or by using fuboTV, which comes with a free trial.
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