World Series 2022: Top Storylines for Phillies vs. Astros Game 3
The 2022 World Series is now a best-of-five.
The Philadelphia Phillies rallied from a five-run deficit to swipe Game 1 in extra innings on J.T. Realmuto's 10th-inning solo shot. The Houston Astros responded by grabbing a hold of Game 2 with a three-run first inning and never relinquishing control in a 5-2 victory.
The clubs are now in Philadelphia and better rested than they planned, as inclement weather postponed Game 3 from Monday to Tuesday night.
Let's dig deeper into the matchup by breaking down some of its top storylines.
Starting Pitcher Shuffle
Without the postponement, the Phillies would be turning to starter Noah Syndergaard for Game 3. However, the extra time off allowed them to roll with Ranger Suárez on Tuesday and Aaron Nola for Game 4. If Syndergaard hasn't thrown by then, he'll be on the bump for Game 5, giving Zack Wheeler an extra chance to rest up before getting the nod in Game 6.
"He's fine," Phillies manager Rob Thompson told reporters. "It's just late in the season, velocity's dropped a little bit. He's fatigued. I just feel like he needs more time."
The Astros, meanwhile, will leave their rotation intact and simply let everyone benefit from the extra rest. That puts Lance McCullers Jr. on the mound in Game 3, Cristian Javier on-deck for Game 4 and Justin Verlander in-the-hole for Game 5.
"The equation was Javier's been really good, No. 1," Astros skipper Dusty Baker explained. "And No. 2, we feel that that extra day off would not hurt Justin. It would probably be to his benefit."
Statistical Stock Report
This gets harder to remember by the minute, but there was a time in the not-so-distant past in which Jose Altuve was actually struggling this postseason.
The 5'6" hit machine actually went hitless in Houston's first five playoff contests, including going 0-for-8 in the Astros' 18-inning marathon win over the Seattle Mariners. He finally cracked his first playoff hit in Game 3 of the ALCS, and he's kept the gas pedal floored ever since. Including that contest, his last four outings have yielded seven hits, two doubles and three runs scored.
His teammate, Kyle Tucker, started this series with a bang—or two bangs, actually. He went yard twice in Game 1, going 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBI. He went 0-for-3 with a walk in Game 2, but he still has as many home runs in this series as everyone else combined.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, needs someone other than Realmuto to get rolling. The dynamic catcher, who's 3-for-8 with a double, a homer and three RBI, is the only Philly clearing .300 in this series. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos are a combined 6-of-24 (.250) with just a single extra-base hit between them (a double by Castellanos).
No Place Like Home
The Phillies are a flawed team. They have defensive question marks and limited depth with their pitching staff.
This was not a great regular-season team to say the least. They fired former manager Joe Girardi in June, and while they played better under Thompson, they still went just 87-75, giving them the second-worst record of any playoff participant (the Tampa Bay Rays, who were swept out of the wild-card round, went 86-76).
So, how do they find themselves just three wins shy of a World Series title? Well, ever since the playoffs started, they never lose at home. Sometimes, they don't even sweat inside Citizens Bank Park. They're a perfect 5-0 with a plus-20 run differential (35-15) in front of their home fans this postseason.
"If we didn't have our fans the last couple days or the last three weeks, we wouldn't be where we are right now because home-field advantage is real in Philadelphia,” Harper told reporters ahead of this series.