Three World Series Questions for the Next Three Games

If you thought the first two World Series games were exciting, just wait until tonight. For the first time in 13 years, Philadelphia is hosting a World Series game—and it’s on Halloween night, against the villains of baseball, one day after the Eagles defeated the Steelers at home to improve to 7–0. Yeah, it’s going to be nuts.

The Phillies have won all five of their home games this postseason, including their series-clinching wins over the Braves and Padres. Despite the small sample size, home field advantage is certainly a thing at Citizens Bank Park, and it will once again be a factor against the Astros.

Let’s take a look at three questions that will decide the next three games.

1. Can Houston contain Bryce Harper and the phrightening Phillies lineup?

That’s what happened in Game 2, when Harper was held hitless for the first time since Game 1 of the NL wild-card round. Opponents have struggled for the most part to keep the Philly hitters in check—the Phillies are averaging five runs per game during the postseason and seven per game when playing at home—but in Houston’s 5–2 win Saturday, Astros lefthander Framber Valdez went 6⅓ innings with just one run and nine strikeouts.

2. How long can the Philadelphia relievers keep this up?

As I mentioned in yesterday’s newsletter, the Astros have scored 10 runs over the first two games of the series, but none of those have come against the Phillies’ bullpen. At some point, you’d think, Houston is going to get to the Philadelphia relievers, right? After all, the Phillies ‘pen had the worst ERA (4.27) of any of this year’s 12 playoff teams during the regular season, and the unit’s 5.10 ERA was the worst in the National League during the second half. So far, though, Phillies relief pitchers have held their own in their 13 postseason games. In that span, their ‘pen is 6–0 with a 2.65 ERA across 51 innings.

3. Is Jose Altuve heating up?

After going 0-for-25 to start the postseason, Altuve is 7-for-16 (.438) and has two doubles over his last four games, with three of those seven hits coming in World Series Game 2. “He means so much to us,” Alex Bregman told Tom Verducci after Game 2. “We know when he goes, we go.”

This lineup is difficult enough to navigate when Altuve isn’t clicking. Bregman is having an excellent postseason as well, and Kyle Tucker looks locked in after his two home runs in Game 1. Yordan Alvarez is probably the most dangerous hitter on the field not named Harper. If Altuve is about to break out, too, the Phillies could be in trouble.

Have any questions or comments for our team? Send a note to mlb@si.com.

1. THE OPENER

“Their home run celebration is simple. It is almost too simple to be called a handshake, really, just a few movements that look so instinctive they might as well be automatic. When Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan sees Rhys Hoskins hit a ball out of the park, he waits for the first baseman to round the corner toward home and then he slaps his hand and gives him a pat on the butt. See? That’s all it is.

“This simple gesture, though, was chosen deliberately. It means something to both of them, and it has been shaped by years of waiting and hoping and working …

That’s how Emma Baccellieri begins her excellent Daily Cover story, published this morning, about Phillies slugger Rhys Hoskins.

Homers, Handshakes and Hoskins: The Long Road to the World Series by Emma Baccellieri
He is the longest-tenured hitter in this scary-good Phillies lineup, a symbol of just how far the organization has come.

2. ICYMI

Stephanie Apstein wrote two great feature stories about two Astros players, Alex Bregman and Chas McCormick.

First, from after Houston’s Game 2 win, Stephanie detailed Bregman’s resurgence after two and a half down, injury-filled years.

Six months ago, he was afraid to play baseball. Three months ago, he wasn’t sure he would ever hit again. “I think it was kind of an uncharted place,” Bregman told her. “It could go either way.”

How Alex Bregman Found His Footing and Started Raking Again by Stephanie Apstein

Then, heading into Game 3, Stephanie wrote about McCormick, a Philly guy through and through, who just so happens to play center field for the Phillies’ World Series opponent. That means his loved ones are in a tough spot this week when he returns home for the biggest games of his life.

“I’m just hoping that every time he’s up, there’s no one on base and the Phillies are up by five runs, so he can hit a double or a home run and it’s not going to affect the outcome,” Alex Barr, one of McCormick’s best friends, told Stephanie. “I’m rooting for Chas every time he comes up; I’m just hoping it’s not in any super big spots where he could hurt the Phillies.”

McCormick’s response: “It is b.s. I don’t like it.”

Philadelphia: Welcome Home, Chas McCormick. We Hope You Lose. by Stephanie Apstein

Now, let’s get you caught up on some of the action from the first two World Series games.

From Game 1

The J.T. Realmuto Game Has the Phillies Ready to Shock the World by Tom Verducci
The catcher stunned the Astros with his go-ahead home run in Game 1 to help Philadelphia seize the upper hand in the World Series.

Justin Verlander Crumbles Yet Again in the World Series by Stephanie Apstein
The Astros ace couldn’t erase his legacy of failures in the Fall Classic. He squandered a five-run lead in Game 1 vs. the Phillies.

Phillies’ Bold Bullpen Moves Fuel Their World Series Title Push by Emma Baccellieri
Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson made a set of aggressive decisions that led to the team’s epic Game 1 comeback win.

From Game 2

Jose Altuve Is Back—Just in Time to Save the Astros by Tom Verducci
The second baseman broke out of his funk in Houston’s win over the Phillies in World Series Game 2.

Kyle Schwarber Missed It by That Much … Twice! by Matt Martell
Two swings, a combined distance of 756 feet, zero home runs.

3. WORTH NOTING from Stephanie Apstein

Phillies manager Rob Thomson has managed much more aggressively in this World Series than he did in the regular season, which is common. What’s less common is how much more aggressively he’s managed in the World Series than in earlier rounds of the playoffs. Typically we see managers with regular-season modes and postseason modes, but Thomson has surprised (and delighted) even his players, bringing in one of his best arms, José Alvarado, with a tie game in the fifth inning in Game 1. It’s not so much that Thomson flipped a switch this round, he explained. Even though this didn’t come to pass in the NLCS, he was worried about the lost off-day between Games 5 and 6, which could have had them playing five days in a row. In the World Series, teams don’t play more than three straight.

“[It] depends on when the off days come,” he said. “So when we got into the Padres series where we had potentially five in a row, then it’s more like the regular season where you got to be careful with guys. I certainly don’t want to put any of our pitchers in harm’s way. That’s not what I’m about. So in these seven-game series where you got 2-3-2, you got that day off, two days off, potentially, and so you can use guys a little bit more. If we start the season next year I can tell you I won’t manage like this, because it’s a marathon. This is a sprint now, and we have to go for it every day.”

4. W2W4 from Nick Selbe

It’s been 4,747 days since Philadelphia last played host to a World Series. On that night—Nov. 2, 2009—the Phillies staved off elimination with an 8–6 win in Game 5 over the Yankees thanks to a pair of home runs by Chase Utley. But perhaps the biggest star on the field that night was not wearing Phillies red or Yankees pinstripes, but instead came from north of the border, as the pregame rendition of the national anthem was sung by none other than Canadian icon and voice of a generation Alanis Morissette. The Phillies have been announcing national anthem singers and first-pitch throwers the day before home games throughout the playoffs, but have conspicuously declined to tip their hand as of the writing of this newsletter. Be sure to tune in for the pregame show to see if anybody will be able to top Morissette’s appearance (or perhaps a return from the “Ironic” singer herself.

5. THE CLOSER from Emma Baccellieri

Phillies manager Rob Thomson was asked yesterday about the key for his team beating Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. It’s no surprise that he focused on the righty’s breaking stuff. (You may remember his curveball from this SI cover in 2017.) “I think righthanders got to get that breaking ball close to ’em, and lefties got to get it away from ’em so it’s breaking into ’em and not back foot and starting in the middle of the plate and ending up off,” Thomson said. “It is a good breaking ball. He throws it a lot. He throws it any count. I think that’s the key, though, is if you’re a right-handed hitter, just get it close to you.” Yet one thing to note? McCullers actually throws the curve far less often now than he did the last time he was on this stage … but he now has introduced a fearsome slider to go with it that he throws almost just as much.

That’s all from us today. We’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow. In the meantime, share this newsletter with your friends and family, and tell them to sign up at SI.com/newsletters. If you have any questions or comments, shoot us an email at mlb@si.com.