Philadelphia Phillies Excited For Long-Awaited Rematch With Astros
The last time the Philadelphia Phillies traveled to Houston, they ultimately wound up watching the Houston Astros win the World Series.
In six games.
In Houston.
Beginning Friday night, the Phillies will have a chance to exorcise some of those demons when they open a key three-game weekend series at Minute Maid Park.
For Nick Castellanos, the memories are especially vivid. He made the final out in Game Six.
“I’m excited to go back to Houston,” Castellanos told reporters. “There’s going to be some uncomfortable memories that I’ll have to confront, just being the last out of the World Series and things like that, but I’m excited to get back there.”
The three games with the Astros will be followed by three with the Los Angeles Dodgers. From there, the schedule continues to get more and more difficult.
After winning two of three against the Seattle Mariners, the Phillies remain confident.
They’ll enter Friday’s game with a 13-13 record.
“Once you get to .500, then you get to five over, then you get to 10 over, then you get to 15 over,” manager Rob Thomson said. “It’s early. We didn’t play well early, but I think we’re playing well now.”
While the Phillies are playing well now, there may be some mental hurdles to clear when competing against the Astros.
“I can’t block that out,” Castellanos said. “Those memories are too strong to pretend that they don’t exist. So I have no choice but to use them.”
The Phillies can take solace in the fact that they clinched the playoff berth in Houston during the final regular season series.
The Astros are the defending champions, but the Phillies are more than capable of winning in Houston.
More From SI's Inside The Astros:
- Could Mike Trout Request a Trade to the Houston Astros?
- Mariners Fans Inexplicably Outraged Following Houston Astros' Social Media Post About Sweep
- Report: Former Astros Pitcher Fiers' Contract Terminated By CPBL Club
- Six Houston Astros Declared Free Agents
- Watch: Yordan Álvarez's Home Run Wins Astros World Series
- Lucas Giolito Claims All Teams Were Cheating in 2017
- Dusty Baker Makes His Thoughts Known on Bonds and Judge Records
- Is it Time to Move on From the Houston Astros Cheating Scandal?
- Is There Any Hope for an Aging Yuli Gurriel?
- Astros' Álvarez Stopped Striking Out and Became the Best Hitter in Baseball
Make sure to follow Inside the Astros on Twitter @InsideAstrosSI!
