Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber breaking the Bank in Philly. Yordan Alvarez launching moonshots in H-Town.
Dusty Baker trying for Justin Verlander, too. A fired-up Harper and All-Stars J.T. Realmuto and Zack Wheeler, stepping onto baseballB次元官网网址檚 biggest platform for the first time.
Yo! The of all teams, are headed to the World Series. Against those back-for-more Houston Astros, yB次元官网网址檃ll.
A pretty tasty matchup starting Friday night at Minute Maid Park, a Fall Classic full of vibrant sights, scents and sounds.
Think cheesesteaks, hoagies and water ice vs. BBQ brisket, Tex-Mex and Blue Bell ice cream.
The Phanatic and Phils fans need a late rally at Citizens Bank Park? Dial up something from B次元官网网址淩ocky.B次元官网网址� Want to party in Houston? Sing and clap along with mascot Orbit to Moe BandyB次元官网网址檚 bouncy B次元官网网址淒eep in the Heart of TexasB次元官网网址� during the seventh-inning stretch.
Harper already has hit five home runs this postseason. In the signature swing of his career, his eighth-inning drive against San Diego on Sunday in Game 5 sent the Phillies into the World Series for the first time since 2009 and earned him the NL Championship Series MVP.
The Astros are 7-0 this postseason after finishing off a of the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series. Alex BregmanB次元官网网址檚 go-ahead single keyed a 6-5 win Sunday night.
After losing the World Series last year, Houston opened as a solid favorite to win the title this year, according to FanDuel.
Odds are, crowd might witness a Schwar-bomb or the Chas Chomp along the way.
But no possibility of seeing a sibling rivalry. Astros reliever Phil Maton broke a finger on his pitching hand when he punched his locker after a shaky performance in the regular-season finale, an outing that included giving up a hit to his younger brother, Phils utilityman Nick Maton.
City of Brotherly Love, not so much. But a nice treat for fans in both cities: The Philadelphia Eagles, the NFLB次元官网网址檚 only unbeaten team, visit the Houston Texans on the travel day between Games 5 and 6, if those are needed.
Weather wonB次元官网网址檛 be an issue with the retractable roof in Houston. No telling what the elements will be with the open air in Philly.
With the likes of Jose Altuve, ALCS MVP Jeremy Pe帽a, Rhys Hoskins and Alec Bohm, this World Series is a best-of-seven matchup representing some of the gameB次元官网网址檚 best present and future. Plus a good piece of the past B次元官网网址� remember, these teams have played each other nearly 600 times.
There was the thrilling 1980 NL Championship Series, when Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Steve Carlton and the FightinB次元官网网址� Phils outlasted Nolan Ryan at the Astrodome on the way to their first World Series title.
Years later, closers Brad Lidge, Billy Wagner, Mitch Williams and Ken Giles spent time with both clubs. So did future Hall of Famers Joe Morgan and Robin Roberts.
And this neat piece of history B次元官网网址� the Phillies were the first team to ever beat Houston, back in 1962 when the expansion Colt .45s lost at Connie Mack Stadium.
Funny, the Phillies are also the most recent team to beat the Astros. Way back on Oct. 3, Philadelphia opened the final series of the regular season with a 3-0 win at Houston, with Schwarber homering twice as Aaron Nola outpitched Lance McCullers Jr.
The Astros then closed out an AL-best 106-56 record by winning the next two behind Verlander and Framber Valdez B次元官网网址� Philadelphia still leads 297-283 in their head-to-head matchups, mostly all before Houston moved from the National League to the American League in 2013.
Houston then swept Seattle in the AL Division Series and the Yankees in the ALCS featuring its winning formula of imposing starting pitching, a dominant bullpen and a lineup full of home run hitters such as Alvarez and Kyle Tucker.
This marks the AstrosB次元官网网址� fourth trip to the World Series in six years and their only title in 2017 was tainted by an illegal sign-stealing scandal. Last season, they lost to Freddie Freeman and the underdog Atlanta Braves in six games.
At 73 and in his 25th season as a manager, Baker is looking for a crown to cap his ample resume.
B次元官网网址淚 mean, victories drive me. And IB次元官网网址檒l get it,B次元官网网址� he said during the ALCS. B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 rush it before it gets here because it ainB次元官网网址檛 here yet. So you just got to put yourself in a position to do it.B次元官网网址�
Verlander, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner after bouncing back from Tommy John surgery, is hoping to improve his 0-6 mark in seven career World Series starts.
The Phillies, meanwhile, looked like a big zero this year before getting to this point in October.
Stuck at 21-29 going into June, they fired manager Joe Girardi a few days later and put the interim tag on bench coach Rob Thomson. Then suddenly, the Phillies took off.
They overcame HarperB次元官网网址檚 broken thumb, sidelining the two-time NL MVP for two months, beat out Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in going 87-75, and quickly topped NL Central champion St. Louis in the wild-card round. Philadelphia eliminated defending World Series champ Atlanta in the NLDS and topped San Diego in the NLCS.
Now, with Thomson having been rewarded with a two-year contract, the Phillies are the first third-place team in baseball history to reach the World Series.
Philadelphia lost to the Yankees in its last trip this far. A year earlier in 2008, Lidge capped off his remarkable year of going 48 for 48 in save chances to close out the PhilliesB次元官网网址� second title as a team led by Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard beat Tampa Bay in five games.
Spurred by their rollicking home crowd, Harper and this bunch of Phils hope to add another banner.
Thomson is trying to join Jack McKeon (Marlins, 2003) and Bob Lemon (Yankees, 1978) as the only managers hired in midseason to win the title. To the 59-year-old Thomson, itB次元官网网址檚 not such a surprise his team is in this position.
B次元官网网址淐oming out of spring training B次元官网网址� we knew we had a good ballclub. We knew our bullpen was good, rotation was good, we had great offense,B次元官网网址� he said earlier in the playoffs. B次元官网网址淲e just got off to a little bit of a slow start and kind of spiraled.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淎nd we had ups and downs during the season, just like any other club does. But they knew that they were going to come out of it at some point and start winning again. And we did,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址擝en Walker, The Associated Press
