Houston Astros vs Philadelphia Phillies: Early World Series preview and 3 bold predictions
By Kevin Henry
2. Nick Castellanos will be more than a meme
Everyone knows the words that will forever be associated with Nick Castellanos. However, the 30-year-old outfielder will add another description to his name during this Fall Classic: Philadelphia World Series hero.
While Bryce Harper put the exclamation mark on the Phillies heading to the World Series with his highlight-reel home run in Game 5 against the Padres, Castellanos has had a somewhat quiet postseason, going just 9-for-41 (.220) at the plate with no homers and six RBI. That follows a final series of the season in Houston where he went 0-for-6.
However, there are signs that Castellanos is starting to find his rhythm at the plate, getting four of those hits over a three-game span against the Padres in the NLCS.
With that in mind, look for Castellanos to heat up against Houston, and even have one of the decisive hits in Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park on Halloween night. That hit will help the Phillies dig out of an 0-2 hole from Houston and hand the Astros their first loss of the postseason.
Who knows, maybe that series-changing hit will indeed be a deep drive to left.