Catching a case of Phillie Phever!

The sports world takes a breath today, with the NBA and NHL representing the only action of the four major professional sports. It's not that we don't love betting on both basketball and hockey, but today feels like the right time to look ahead and see what awaits us for the 2022 World Series, set to begin on Friday.

Odds to win the World Series

Philadelphia: +160

Houston: -185

Phillies are the underdogs, but who doesn't love an underdog? 

On one end we have the Houston Astros, their fourth World Series appearance in the past six years and second straight. Houston has yet to drop a postseason game this season and owned the American League's best record this year. 

The Astros are here again thanks to a strong, balanced team. The offense has bats all over, and the postseason leaders have been ALCS MVP Jeremy Pena, Alex Bregman, and Yuli Gurriel, all hitting over .300. Then you have big hitters Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, both of whom piled up over 30 homers during the regular season. It's the pitching that gives Houston the edge here. Justin Verlander is the ace, but this starting rotation goes four deep with Framber Valdez, Lance McCullers Jr., and Christian Javier, all of whom have shown dominant stuff this season. 

Philadelphia is on a magical run, and the bulk of that success has been because of a powerful and deep lineup. NLCS MVP Bryce Harper is hitting .400 in October, leading all postseason hitters in hits (18) and doubles (six) while tied for first in HRs at five. Rhys Hoskins also has five homers, and Kyle Schwarber has four. Every game it seems the Phillies have had game-changing swings of the bats, which would explain why they've scored the most runs in the playoffs. Their pitching is a bit more suspect. Zack Wheeler is an ace, coming into the World Series with a 1.78 ERA in four starts, and Aaron Nola is a solid second option, but Philadelphia is going to need one of Ranger Suarez, Noah Syndergaard, or Bailey Falter to deliver a quality start to win a championship.

We give the offensive edge to Philadelphia and the pitching edge to Houston, and now it's just about what you believe in. There's merit to expecting an Astros win here, but we can't escape the momentum the Phillies have right now. From the Wild Card to the World Series, they are playing just as good of baseball as Houston, and it's a run we want to back as we gear up for the best-of-seven showdown.

We're jumping on the Philadelphia bandwagon and taking the Phillies to win at +160. It's a result we can feel good about, and this team has been so damn fun to watch the past few weeks. We'll have plenty more World Series coverage here at Yardbarker as the games inch closer, including looks into series props and the best bets for Game 1.

In the news ...

Bailey Zappe comes in for Mac Jones, Rookie of the Year odds skyrocket — After a rough start to Monday night's performance, Mac Jones was yanked from the game and Bailey Zappe was inserted. The spark was immediate, as Zappe led the Patriots to two quick touchdown drives. While the magic fizzled, and the Patriots lost 33-14, the question now becomes if this is Zappe's team. It's hard to argue with the results, and now Bill Belichick has a decision to make. Bettors flocked to books to get their Zappe Rookie of the Year bets in, with his odds growing from +6000 pregame to +1000 at halftime. Zappe currently sits at +1200 on DraftKings, and if he does get the job, he does have plenty of time to win the award. With Breece Hall's injury, we noted yesterday that the market is wide open.

James Robinson traded to Jets — The Jets saw an open window and we have to applaud them for going for it. At 5-2, Zach Wilson has yet to lose a game this year, but the loss of emerging star running back Breece Hall was a shot to the team Sunday. New York made moves to remedy that by trading for Jaguars running back James Robinson, who figures to slot right in as the team's top back. This is great news for Travis Etienne of Jacksonville, but it also makes us believe the Jets can actually keep the good times rolling. They're currently at +135 to make the playoffs, a bet worth a flyer considering they're tied with the Chiefs for the second-best record in the AFC.

Colts bench Matt Ryan for Sam Ehlinger — In a surprising move, Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich announced that it would be Sam Ehlinger starting at quarterback for the Colts in Week 8 and the rest of the season. It's been a disappointing first year as a Colt for Matt Ryan, who has led Indy to a 3-3-1 record and tossed a league-leading nine interceptions. Indianapolis hasn't been able to get the QB position right since the surprise retirement of Andrew Luck, and one has to wonder if this is the foundation of tanking the 2022 season in the hopes of securing one of the top draft picks for what is considered a loaded QB class in next year's draft. You can still grab the Titans to win the AFC South at just -160. They're 4-2 and look to have a stranglehold of the division.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll