Betsided

MLB Probable Pitchers for Saturday, October 29 (Who's Starting Game 2 of the World Series?)

By Brian Giuffra

Jun 27, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zach Wheeler (45) at Citi
Jun 27, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zach Wheeler (45) at Citi / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitterreddit

The Astros host the Phillies in Game 2 of the World Series tonight after XXX in Game 1. Many a World Series have been decided by who wins Game 2 and there's usually no more important element of winning the game than the starting pitching match up.

The Phillies held their best pitcher for the second game while the Astros turn to their second ace who's been lights out in the postseason. Let's get into the matchup now and how these contrasting styles will impact the game.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Houston Astros World Series Game 2 Probable Pitchers

  • Phillies: Zach Wheeler (1-1, 1.78 ERA)
  • Astros: Framber Valdez (1-0, 1.42 ERA)

Zach Wheeler vs Framber Valdez Breakdown

While Wheeler is pitching Game 2 for the Phillies after Arron Nola pitched Game 1, make no mistake about it, he is the Phillies ace. The 32-year-old righty has given up only 5 earned runs in 25.1 inning pitched this postseason while striking out 25 against only 3 walks. His WHIP is 0.51 and he's got a favorable matchup against an Astros team that struggles more against righties than lefties, which we'll get to in a second.

Valdez, meanwhile, would be the ace on most teams that don't have Justin Verlander at the top of their rotation. The 2022 All-Star has given up only 2 earned runs in 13.2 innings pitched in the postseason with 15 strike outs against 3 walks. He actually started Game 1 and Game 5 of the 2021 World Series, a forgettable experience where he gave up 10 runs in 4 innings over two games against the Braves. Still, he has more postseason experience than Wheeler, including a 7-inning shutout of the Yankees when he struck out 9 batters in his last start.

Clearly this is matchup should be an excellent battle between two stellar pitchers. The biggest thing that stands out to me is the Astros bat worse against righties than lefties and the Phillies hit better against lefties than righties. It's a small sample size, but the Astros have a slash line of .213/.381/.663 against righties while the Phillies have a slash line of .280/.440/.773 against lefties. That would suggest the Phillies have an advantage in this matchup. So too would Valdez's struggles in last year's World Series.

Of course, we all know anything can happen in the postseason and any pitcher could step up. We'll see how this one shakes out, but the numbers favor the Phils.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Home/MLB Odds