2022 World Series Betting Odds: Philadelphia Phillies vs Houston Astros

When the season started, the 2022 World Series betting odds gave the Phillies little chance to win the World Series at 35-1. That lack of confidence remained to start the postseason with Philly at 30-1 in most books. Houston opened the season at 8/1 and is a -165 favorite in game one. A long layoff allows both teams to heal their MLB injuries. Astros are still undecided about who will start game one while Phil’s Manager Rob Thompson announces Aaron Nola will get the ball in game one.

Phillies Lowest Seed In Postseason

As mentioned, the Philadelphia Phillies’ 2022 World Series betting odds (35-1) to start the season, left many wondering how long it would take the Phils to appear in the Fall Classic once again. With seven-time all-star Bryce Harper missing 63 games with a fractured left thumb injury there was good reason to believe that this wasn’t Philadelphia’s year. Instead of giving in, they rolled their sleeves up and leaned on quality starting pitching and aggressive baserunning to make up for their loss in power with Harper out.

Philadelphia produced 75 quality starts led by Nola’s 18 to go along with their 105 stolen bases, good for fifth in the majors. In the postseason, Philadelphia has shown a glimpse of what they were supposed to be all season after signing free agent Kyle Schwarber who smacked a career-high 46 homers in 2022. The duo has combined for 8 round-trippers and 17 RBIs this postseason.

Zack Wheeler (12-7, 2.82 era) will get the ball in game two. Most bettors feel that Philadelphia is dangerous because their pitching will always keep them in most games, while the addition of Harper gives them a powerful presence in a line-up that owns a speed advantage over Houston. Let’s continue our 2022 World Series betting odds preview by putting the spotlight on the Astros.

The odds to win the World Series is a line that baseball sharps keep an eye on all season long. For all of the latest MLB odds and news, keep it right here and check back often.

Astros Need to Ride Dominate Pitching

Houston was better for as good as the Phillies were on the mound this season. Houston had 19 more quality starts than their World Series opposition led by five pitchers with at least 10 quality starts. Leading the pack were Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander who combined for 50% of the team’s quality outings. This is in front of the bullpen that has given up a grand total of three runs in 30 innings.

Closer Ryan Pressly is a perfect 9 for 9 in save opportunities. It can be argued that the Astros have another advantage and that’s on the bench. Astros manager Dusty Baker owns 25 years of experience and a big chip after claiming back-to-back American League pennants but never a World Series title.

Thompson is in his first year as a manager after taking over for Joe Girardi. If you were to nitpick for the purpose of finding a Houston weakness, it’s their eagerness at the plate that forces guys like Jose Altuve to swing at pitches out of the zone. What you’ll see early on is Philly pitching testing the waters to see who is going to chase bad pitches. Nola and Wheeler must get ahead in the count in to use Houston’s aggressiveness against them.

Houston Is Likely Choice for Bettors

To conclude our 2022 World Series betting odds preview let’s take a look at the betting numbers for both teams this season and beyond. Philadelphia wasn’t a reliable team to bet on during the regular season (-673 units), but that all changed in the playoffs after Philly won three straight series as an underdog, earning bettors 721 units of profit.

As the series progresses you will want to take a serious look at the Philadelphia at home where they’ve won 52 of their 86 games (61%). That record only produced 111 units of profit but it’s the winning percentage that’s more important because they won’t be large enough favorites to skew the number like the regular season.

Houston and Philadelphia have met just three times this season with Houston taking two of three to end the season. In that series, both teams pitched shutouts with Philadelphia getting the first 3-0 behind Aaron Nola’s 6.2 innings of 2-hit ball. Houston came right back in game two, delivering a 10-0 win behind Justin Verlander’s no-hit ball through five innings.

Houston had a combined no-hitter until the ninth. Game three was a 3-2 affair but Houston was in control until the Phils put up a couple of runs in the 8th. We would like nothing more than to go against the grain in this one but the Astros will win their second title in six seasons behind their incredible pitching. On a side note, if the number gets too high, consider betting the under for the series duration.

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