Best Astros vs. Phillies Prop Bets and NRFI/YRFI Prediction for World Series Game 3
By Josh Yourish
After a day off, the World Series heads to Philadelphia which I’m certain means a raucous crowd on Halloween night.
Halloweekend probably hasn’t ended in Philly yet and if the Phillies can hold serve at home, then it probably never will. With the next three games at Citizen's Bank Park, the Phillies have a chance to close out the Houston Astros, but that's no small task.
Houston bounced back in Game 2 and has a distinct advantage on the mound in Game 3. Lance McCullers Jr. starts for Houston and unless Noah Syndergaard’s Halloween costume is Thor from 2015, he could be in trouble.
Like I said, it’s Halloween and every good costume needs props, Thor has his hammer, Altuve his trash can; here are my best props for tonight and how I’m betting the first inning in World Series Game 3.
Astros vs. Phillies Best MLB Prop Bets
- Yes Run First Inning (-113)
- Lance McCullers Jr. Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+108)
- Jose Altuve Over 1.5 Total bases (+125)
Yes Run First Inning (-113)
There is not a ton of value on the YRFI side today, but that isn’t going to make me abandon my strategy. I’ve been fading pitchers coming off long layoffs in the postseason and it’s been profitable. Noah Syndergaard has only made one start this postseason and it came on Oct. 15. His other two outings have been short stints out of the bullpen, the last one coming on Oct. 22 against San Diego. He has not been on the mound much this postseason and in the regular season, he carried a 6.08 ERA in the first inning.
The other factor is Jose Altuve finding his swing for the first time this October. In Game 2 Altuve recorded three hits, one shy of his total for the rest of this postseason. Altuve is once again a force at the top of the Houston lineup and will help them generate a run in the first tonight.
Lance McCullers Jr. Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+108)
We all remember McCullers throwing curveball after curveball to close out the 2017 World Series, but that is not the only time he has had postseason success. For his career he has a 2.77 postseason ERA and strikes out 9.9 batters per nine innings. His curveball usage always goes up in the postseason and this season opponents hit .116 on the pitch with a slugging percentage of .163 and a 37.2 whiff rate.
Jose Altuve Over 1.5 Total Bases (+125)
Like I said, Altuve is hot right now. John Smotlz was saying on the broadcast in Game 1 that it looked like he was finally seeing the strike zone and putting good swings on the ball. He was right because Game 2 was huge for Altuve. Altuve is second all-time in postseason home runs and has a postseason OPS of .865 for his career. This slump wasn’t going to last forever and now that he is out of it he might career Houston to the title.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.