Both the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies booked their spots in the 2022 World Series on Sunday. The Astros became AL pennants after sweeping the New York Yankees, while the Philadelphia Phillies were crowned NL champions by eliminating the San Diego Padres in five games.
The Astros’ dominant showing isn’t much of a surprise, considering they have been consistent all season long. After leading the AL with 106 wins during the regular season, Houston swept the Seattle Mariners in ALDS and then dealt with the Yankees easier than expected.
“It’s a long road to get here,” said Astros manager Dusty Baker after Game 4, which his team won 6-5. “There’s a lot that happens in the months to get here from spring training. It means that we persevered, and we stayed together, and we made the necessary trades when we had to try to strengthen certain parts of our team.”
The Phillies, on the other hand, have caught the NL off guard, considering they barely got to the postseason as the third team in NL East. They first stunned the favored Cardinals in NLWC and then eliminated divisional rivals Atlanta Braves in just four games in an NLDS showdown.
The Padres proved to be a tougher challenge, considering every game went down to the wire. However, the Phillies showed resilience and had their best players come through when it mattered the most. This was especially the case with star right fielder Bryce Harper, who hit a home run in the eighth inning of Game 5 against the Padres to give his team a 3-4 comeback win.
“I didn’t want to get back on that flight back to San Diego. I just didn’t want to get on a 5½-hour flight,” Harper said after the game. “I wanted to hang out at home and enjoy this at home with these fans and this organization and this fan base.”
The Astros and the Phillies will play Game 1 of the 2022 World Series on Friday. This will be the fourth World Series appearance for Houston in the past six seasons and the first for Philadelphia since 2009.
