The Houston Astros hosted the Philadelphia Phillies in each game of their final series during the regular season – Houston won two out of three.

Neither team probably had any thought that they would face each other in the World Series just three weeks later, but here they are.

Funny enough - the Phillies threw a champagne shower in the Minute Maid Park visiting clubhouse in that series, as they clinched their postseason berth there. Houston will do all it can to prevent the champagne going in that locker room (or the home clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park) again.

Here is everything you need to know about the 2022 World Series.

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The 2022 World Series is truly a David vs. Goliath matchup: The Phillies were the sixth seed in the National League – Major League Baseball agreed to an expanded postseason before this season with 12 total teams – six from each league. Had it been any other year (aside from the 2020 season), Philadelphia’s 87-75 record would have forced them to plan golf trips after 162 regular season games.

Meanwhile, they will be going up against the cream of the crop in the American League – the top-seeded Houston Astros are 7-0 this postseason after winning 106 games – one shy of the franchise record 107 from 2019. Most games they have played have been close (they have only won by more than two runs just once in those seven games), but in typical Astros fashion, they are finding ways to get it done.

Houston is in its second consecutive World Series and their fourth in the last six years. Their only title in that span came in 2017, which has now become notorious, and arguably tainted, as they ran the largest sign-stealing scandal in baseball history. However, with a win, it will be manager Dusty Baker’s first-ever championship. The Phillies are in their first Fall Classic since 2009 – they have not won it since the year prior, when they took down the Tampa Bay Rays in five games.

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Well, it was not Joe Girardi – he was fired in June after the Phillies got to a 22-29 start. They made Rob Thomson the interim manager, but with the team's success, he now has the interim tag off his title. 

The Phillies are led by a dominant 1A and 1B of Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. Together, including the postseason, they have combined for a 2.99 ERA this season (Wheeler owns a 1.78 ERA this postseason). 

Last year, Bryce Harper won his second NL MVP Award. This year, he missed a chunk of time after being diagnosed with a slightly torn UCL that resulted in him being designated hitter full time this year, and then was hit by a pitch that broke his thumb. However, in the postseason, he has been dominant. After going 0-for-4 in his first game this postseason, he is now 18-for-40 since then (.450) with five homers and 11 RBI. In his current 10-game hitting streak, he has at least two hits in seven of those games. He was named the NLCS MVP, while Rhys Hoskins also hit four home runs in the series.

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Yordan Alvarez is an offensive freak – his 1.019 OPS was second in baseball, only behind Aaron Judge, and he will very likely be a top-four vote-getter for the AL MVP. Funny enough though, he and Jose Altuve combined to hit just .164 (10-for-61) this postseason. However, it should surprise nobody if, and when, they inevitably turn it around (they both had two hits in the ALCS clincher on Sunday).

They also have Justin Verlander, who after missing the entire 2021 season (and pitching one inning in 2020) after Tommy John surgery, is having the best season of his life in his age-39 season. He will most likely win his third career Cy Young Award. But it’s much more than just Verlander – their starters owned a 2.95 ERA this season, the second-lowest in baseball. Their bullpen also was dominant in the regular season (2.80 ERA, tops in MLB), but they have been on a different level in the postseason. In their seven postseason games, they are pitching to a 0.82 ERA and 0.73 WHIP.

Each game will be televised on FOX at 8:03 p.m. ET.

Game 1: Fri., Oct. 28 in Houston

Game 2: Sat., Oct. 29 in Houston

Game 3: Mon., Oct. 31 in Philadelphia

Game 4: Tues., Nov. 1 in Philadelphia

Game 5 (if necessary): Wed., Nov. 2 in Philadelphia

Game 6 (if necessary): Fri., Nov. 4 in Houston

Game 7 (if necessary): Sat., Nov. 5 in Houston

The number of pending home sales plummeted last month as the housing market is rattled by soaring mortgage rates, according to data from the National Association of Realtors released Friday.

The trade association’s Pending Home Sales Index declined 10.2% in September, exceeding the 3.8% consensus from analysts. Pending transactions fell year-over-year by 31.0%.

“Persistent inflation has proven quite harmful to the housing market,” National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a press release. “The Federal Reserve has had to drastically raise interest rates to quell inflation, which has resulted in far fewer buyers and even fewer sellers.”

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate recently surpassed 7% as the central bank implements the most aggressive contractionary monetary regime in three decades. Yun noted that many homeowners who locked in mortgage rates below 3% prior to this year are unwilling to list their properties. Borrowers can expect monthly payments of roughly $2,000 on a $300,000 mortgage under current market conditions, marking an increase of more than $700 since one year ago.

Mortgage rates began to soar when the Federal Reserve hiked rate targets in both June and July. The ratio between average total monthly payments and median income surged to 43.3% as of August, exceeding levels witnessed before the 2008 housing crisis, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Meanwhile, home prices are falling at a record pace, as indicated by S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index. Although prices are still elevated for the year, the metric reported annual gains at 13% in August, marking a decline from 15.6% in the previous month and the largest plummet in housing costs since the metric was created in 1987.

“As the Federal Reserve moves interest rates higher, mortgage financing becomes more expensive and housing becomes less affordable,” S&P Managing Director Craig Lazzara said in an analysis. “Given the continuing prospects for a challenging macroeconomic environment, home prices may well continue to decelerate.”

Indeed, the current economy is characterized by supply chain issues that have limited the availability of consumer goods and labor shortages that have presented difficulty to businesses attempting to fill their payrolls, both of which have contributed to record inflationary pressures. As voters prepare to cast their midterm ballots in less than two weeks, one survey from Rasmussen found that 60% of voters blame President Joe Biden and his policies for “increased inflation,” while only 13% of respondents believe the White House has been successful in taming high price levels.

National Association of Home Builders Chairman Jerry Konter recently condemned the administration for taking an economic victory lap and claiming that the most recent inflation report “shows some progress in the fight against higher prices,” noting that shelter costs account for nearly one-third of the total rise in price levels.

“If President Biden is truly serious about fighting inflation, he needs to address the nation’s growing housing affordability crisis,” he said in a statement two weeks ago. “Acknowledging and getting serious about tackling the nation’s housing affordability crisis will go a long way to reining in stubbornly high inflation and reduce the economic pain of millions of American families.”