After a long and strenuous season for Major League Baseball, the World Series is finally upon us. The Philadelphia Phillies will take on the Houston Astros in a best-of-seven series. The Phillies took game one 6-5 after a remarkable comeback win. After going  down five runs after the third inning, the Phillies rallied back to win the game Oct. 28. Game two favored the Astros, who won 5-2. 

The Phillies defeated the San Diego Padres 4--1 to claim the National League Championship Series and advance to the World Series. Led by their superstar player Bryce Harper, the Phillies moved past the Padres quite easily. Harper was voted NLCS most valuable player for his heroic performance during the series. The missing presence of star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was felt strongly throughout the series by the Padres. Tatis Jr. was suspended earlier this year for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The Padres tried to bounce back from the suspension by signing Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals. Although the Padres played well throughout the season and postseason without Tatis Jr., they were no match for the Phillies. Phillies star Harper batted .400, with five runs batted in and two home runs. 

On the other side of the World Series, the Astros swept the New York Yankees 4-0 to claim the American League Championship Series and advance to baseball's biggest stage. This comes at the disappointment of Yankees All-Star outfielder Aaron Judge. Judge recently broke the American League record for most home runs in a single season with a total of 62. Roger Maris was the previous holder of this record, and held it for 61 years until Judge broke it this past season. The Astros, led by right fielder Kyle Tucker, pitcher Justin Verlander, and ALCS most valuable player shortstop Jeremy Pena, proved to be the better team. Verlander, who is no stranger to big-time games, struck out 11 hitters in game one of the ALCS. Pena batted .353 and drove in two home runs during the series. 

While the World Series has just started, it is clear that the remainder of the games will be nail biters. Both teams are clearly the most dominant in their respective leagues. The Astros hold a slightly better winning percentage at .654 compared to the Phillies at .537, but the talent on each roster is stacked. In the first few games of the World Series, the Astros and the Phillies have been evenly matched. In game one, Tucker, one of the Astros’ outfielders, hit two home runs, but ultimately fell short to the Phillies as they came back from being down 0-5. Game two was not particularly close, as the Astros moved ahead of the Phillies early and stayed ahead at 5-2. There is still more to come for the World Series this year. MLB fans across the country are waiting in anticipation of who will be crowned as the World Champions this year. Regardless of who wins, this year's World Series will certainly be one to remember for all baseball fans.