Phillies vs Astros World Series Game 2 Odds: Valdez Looks to Help Houston Even The Series

Realmuto The Hero as Phillies Come From Behind to Take Series Open

October 29, 2022 36 5 minutes readMLB Picks & Parlays

Phillies vs Astros World Series Game 2 Odds: Valdez Looks to Help Houston Even The Series — Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos/Getty Images

Realmuto Catches Fire
Tucker Strikes Early
Phillies vs Astros Head-to-Head
Phillies vs Astros Betting Preview

Phillies vs Astros World Series Game 2 Odds & Preview: It looked as if the Houston Astros would make it a perfect 8 for 8 in the 2022 postseason when they jumped out to a 5-0 lead in Game 1 of the World Series. With the way the Houston bullpen had been shutting down opponents in the postseason, it appeared highly unlikely that the Phillies would erase a five-run deficit.

The Philadelphia Phillies defied the odds in just earning a spot in the playoffs and then by eliminating the St. Louis Cardinals, the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, and San Diego Padres. They did it again by becoming the first team to overcome a five-run deficit to win a game in the MLB World Series in 20 years.

Zack Wheeler, who has been the most effective starter for the Phillies in the playoffs, will get the ball in Game 2 while Framber Valdez gets the start for the Astros. Valdez and Houston are favored in the Phillies vs Astros World Series Game 2 betting odds.

According to the current World Series odds the Astros are priced at +105 to win the series with the Phillies coming in at -125.

Game Information

Game: Philadelphia Phillies 87-75 in the regular season, 9-3 in the playoffs; Houston Astros 106-56 in the regular season, 7-1 in the playoffs.
Location: Minute Maid Park, Houston
Day/Time: Game 1 Saturday, Oct. 29, 8:03 p.m.
Streaming: Live Stream Sports

Realmuto Catches Fire

J.T. Realmuto was coming off a so-so performance in the National League Championship Series as he was just 4 of 17 in the five games against the Padres. It was a different story in Game 1 of the World Series.

Realmuto tied the game with a two-run double in the fifth inning and then hit the go-ahead home run in the 10th inning. He became the first catcher to put his team ahead with a home run in extra innings since Carlton Fisk’s ironic walk-off shot in Game 6 in 1975.

Realmuto had gone 24 games, dating back to the regular season, without having multiple extra-base hits in a game. Even with his impressive showing in the series opener, the Phillies vs Astros World Series Game 2 odds favor Houston.

He shared the spotlight with outfielder Nick Castellanos as his sliding catch in the ninth prevented the Astros from winning the game in the bottom of the ninth.

Tucker Strikes Early

Kyle Tucker would have been pretty far down the list of Houston batters likely to have three hits, including two home runs, in the series opener. He is just one of the reasons why the Phillies vs Astros World Series Game 2 betting odds favor Houston.

More attention is paid to World Series champions Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel, rookie Jeremy Pena and rising superstar Yordan Alvarez.

However, it was Tucker who hit a pair of home runs and drove in four runs to give Houston a 5-0 lead. He became just the eighth player to hit at least two home runs in a World Series and the first one for the Astros.

Tucker matched his career-high with 30 home runs during the regular season. However, he had just one extra-base hit in the first seven games in this year’s playoffs. Tucker also had a single in the eighth inning.

Tucker was just 2 of 13 in the four-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

Who’s Hot

Alex Bregman, Astros 3B: Bregman is 6 for 16 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs in his last four games.
Bryce Harper, Phillies DH: Harper had two hits in Game 1. He now has multiple hits in eight of his last 11 contests.
Ryan Pressley, Astros P: Pressley has allowed two hits and no runs with eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings in five postseason appearances.
Zack Wheeler, Phillies P: Wheeler has allowed just four hits in two runs with 16 strikeouts in 13 innings during his last two starts.

Who’s Not

Luis Garcia, Astros P: Allowed two hits, and that included a home run while retiring only two batters in the series opener.
Brad Hand, Phillies P: Four of the last eight batters he has faced have reached base as he has allowed three hits and two runs while retiring three batters in his last two outings.
Trey Mancini, Astros 1B: Mancini is 0 for 16 with six strikeouts in the playoffs.
Jean Segura, Phillies 2B: Segura has two hits in his last 22 at-bats after going 0 for 5 in the series opener.

Phillies vs Astros Head-to-Head

Houston won two of the three games against the Phillies during the regular season with all three contests taking place at Minute Maid Park in early October.

Those were the first games between the teams since 2019 when the visiting Astros took two of three in the only series between the squads.

Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez combined to go 9-for-16 with three doubles in the three games against Philadelphia this season.

Valdez allowed two hits and no runs with 10 strikeouts in five innings in his lone appearance against the Phillies during the regular season. This will be Wheeler’s first career start against the Astros.

Kyle Schwarber hit a pair of home runs against the Astros while Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh and Realmuto also hit over .300 against Houston.

Phillies vs Astros Betting Preview

The hitters had all the fun in Friday’s World Series opener. However, it could be a different story with Wheeler and Valdez pitching on Saturday.

Wheeler has allowed 10 hits in 25⅓ innings in his four postseason starts while Valdez is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his two starts with no home runs allowed. Wheeler was given an extra day of rest because of his success when having additional rest.

Another decision made by rookie manager Rob Thomson was to bring in closer Jose Alvarado in the fifth inning with the game tied at 5. Alvarado was brought in with the bases empty, but with dangerous lefty Alvarez coming to the plate. Alvarado needed just seven pitches to retire the three batters he faced. That means he will be available for Game 2.

The Astros are 101-44 when listed by the MLB betting lines as the favorite, while the Phillies are 31-34 as the underdog. The Astros are just 43-43 against the spread at home in 2022. When looking at the 2022 MLB records, the Astros won 19 more games than the Phillies in the regular season.

While this is not a must-win game, the Astros do not want to head to Phillies for Games 3, 4, and 5 down 0-2 in the series. The Astros haven’t lost back-to-back home games in the same playoff series since 2019. Thank you for stopping by to check out our Phillies vs Astros World Series Game 2 odds & preview. Be sure to stop by for every remaining World Series game.