World Series Future: Astros Will Cover the Spread
The World Series is set. While the playoffs haven't been great for me, they haven't been terrible and we are still very profitable on the MLB season. I'd like to cap it off with a series win and the individual game plays that I have. This should be a fun series and here is my breakdown for the series futures.
I loved the Phillies to start the season, but once the postseason started, I shied away from them. Part of it was the struggle for them just to make the playoffs. It hasn't been an easy path to get to the World Series, but here there are. They took down the Cardinals in two games including one that they took in their last at-bat. Then they moved on and beat the defending champion Braves in a rather convincing fashion. Finally, they thoroughly outplayed the Padres in just about every game. They beat some very good pitchers. The most impressive win might have been their clinching game where they kept fighting and came back to win. Here is how they win this series: Their bats stay hot. They've been getting homers with regularity and the timely hits are coming. Bryce Harper looks great right now, too. In addition, Zack Wheeler needs to be the ace that he is and Aaron Nola needs to rebound from a tough start against San Diego. Ranger Suarez will also have to be able to steal at least one game.
The Astros are a really good and complete team. They have four different pitchers that you'd be happy to have start multiple games in a playoff series. They are a perfect 7-0 in the playoffs. I'm not sure anything can really derail them right now. They've won games in just about every fashion - they started with a walk-off win, then won an 18-inning game. Against the Yankees, they fell behind a few times only to come back. This might be the best pitching staff the Astros have to face though. How can they win the series? It will likely start with their pitching staff being better. They have won every game, but most of that is due to their hitting. They've allowed 18 runs in seven games, but they've been behind in most of them before coming back.
The Phillies might be lucky enough to make this happen. I predicted a Dodgers vs. Astros World Series and have a ticket on the Astros (+400) to win the series. So I personally am hedging with the Phillies to win the series at +160. If you don't have the Astros, I think the best play here is the Astros -1.5 games at +115. I like them to win the series. Their offense is just as good as the Phillies and they might have better pitching.
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