The Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in this year’s edition of the World Series.

   The series lasted six games, with Houston winning the decisive game six in front of their home crowd and dashing the dreams of Philadelphia, an unlikely challenger. 

   While Houston earned the top seed in the American League, Philadelphia snuck into the playoffs as a wildcard. However, Philadelphia quickly established itself with series wins over St. Louis and reigning World Series champions Atlanta, before taking down fellow wildcard team San Diego Padres. 

   Houston cruised to a fourth World Series berth in six years, sweeping Seattle and the New York Yankees en route to their second championship since 2017. 

   Unsurprisingly, Houston appeared to be headed towards a game one victory behind their ace Justin Verlander. They jumped out to a five-run lead in the third inning, but Philadelphia countered with five runs of their own shortly thereafter. The game remained deadlocked at five runs apiece and would end up going into extra innings. A tenth inning solo home run off the bat of Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto would be the difference. 

   All eyes were on Houston for game two, and the Astros answered the bell with a three-run first inning. Houston would tack on two more runs and win game two by a score of five to two. 

   The series shifted to Philadelphia for games three through five, where a raucous crowd hoped to help the team to victory. 

   Game three was seemingly over from the jump. The Phillies belted five home runs off of Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr. and blanked the Astros winning seven to nothing. 

   Again, the pressure was on Houston, as Philadelphia looked to take a commanding lead of three games to one. Christian Javier was dominant on the mound for Houston, surrendering no hits in six scoreless innings. No hits turned out to be the theme of the night, as Houston pitchers combined for only the second no-hitter in World Series history, sixty-six years after Don Larsen’s World Series perfect game. 

   Game five was an intense low scoring affair, with Houston winning three to two. The Phillies threatened in the bottom of the ninth, but a spectacular catch by Houston center-fielder Chas McCormick put an end to Philadelphia’s rally.  

   Back to Houston the series went, with Philadelphia hoping to stave off elimination. 

   Propelled by Yordan Alvarez’s 450-foot three-run home run which capped off a four-run sixth inning, Houston claimed the franchise’s second championship, winning game six by a score of four to one. The win earned manager Dusty Baker his first World Series title. Baker was the winningest manager to have never won a championship, with over 2,000 career victories. 

   The conclusion of the World Series marks the end of the 2022 baseball season. Both Houston and Philadelphia will reload in hopes of another run at the title, joined by the other twenty-eight teams vying for a championship come spring.