Phillies vs Astros Odds: World Series Game 1 Pick

• The Philadelphia Phillies travel to Houston to take on the Astros in Game 1 of the World Series
• Sports betting apps list the home Astros as -165 favorites
• Read below for a full breakdown of the Phillies vs Astros odds

The Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros square off in Game 1 of the World Series with first pitch set for 8 PM EST on Friday October 28th at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX. The Phillies will start Aaron Nola (2-1 3.12 ERA in 2022 playoffs) and the Astros will counter with Justin Verlander (1-0 6.30 ERA in 2022 playoffs). The books list Houston as favorites in the Phillies vs Astros odds for both game 1 and the World Series price.

The Phillies are 9-2 so far this postseason, most recently a gentleman’s sweep over the San Diego Padres in the National League Championship Series. The scorching hot Astros have become a staple in the fall classic out of the American League, and one could argue this is the best they’ve played in recent memory. Houston is 7-0 this postseason after sweeping their division rival, and manhandling the Bronx Bums.

Let’s take a look at the Phillies vs Astros odds for game 1 of the World Series.

Phillies vs Astros Odds

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook!

Phillies Betting Outlook

So far in the playoffs, the Phillies are slashing .237/.307/.442 and have 16 home runs, while striking out at under a 30% rate. On the mound, they have 6 quality starts out of their 11 games, sport an ERA of 3.06, a team WHIP of 0.97 and 107 SO in 97 innings.

Bryce Harper of the @Phillies is the first player to homer in 3 different series-clinching wins in a single postseason.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 23, 2022

This Phillies team struggled when they faced Justin Verlander earlier this month. The offense couldn’t muster up any hits off the tough right hander through the 5 innings he threw, and struck out 10 times in those same 5 innings. In that same October series, the Astros won 2-1. A 3-0 Phillies win,  a 10-0 and 3-2 Astros win sealed the series for the home team.

Bryce Harper is the straw that stirs the drink in this Phillies offense, and one of the worst comments of all time was the Phillies owner telling him that he was underpaid, but he is right. Harper has shown up in the biggest moments this postseason, and has a .400 batting average against Verlander in his career.

Astros Betting Outlook

The 7-0 Astros have a 1.88 team ERA, 3 quality starts, 0.93 WHIP .178 OBA and 89 SO in 72 IP. At the plate, they are slashing .227/.300/.408 with 12 Homeruns and a strikeout to walk rate of 61:20.

The big question is, will Justin Verlander be able to deal with his World Series demons? The ace is a horrible 0-6 and has given up a homerun every 4 innings he has pitched in the fall classic. This Astros lineup is scary at the top, especially with Jeremy Pena being as hot as he is and Kyle Tucker as well as Yordan Alvarez doing damage in the middle. Dusty Baker has put together a lineup that is solid in all facets of the game and are going to be a tough team to beat 4 times.

 Betting Trends

• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 7 games.
• Philadelphia are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games against Houston.
• The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Philadelphia’s last 9 games against an opponent in the American League.
• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston’s last 6 games.
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston’s last 7 games against an opponent in the National League.
• Houston are 9-0 SU in their last 9 games.

World Series Game 1 Pick

With Verlander’s World Series struggles I don’t think just picking the hot Phillies is a good pick, but I really think the offenses are going to be able to score some runs. There’s some juice on it, but I love the Over 6.5 (-120) in Game 1.