The 2022 World Series is here. The and will meet in this year's Fall Cla sic after knocking off the and in the Clint Capela Jersey Championship Series, respectively. The World Series gets going Friday night at Minute Maid Park in Houston. This is the Astros' fourth pennant in the last six years and the Phillies' first pennant since 2009.The pair have a bit of a postseason history. Philadelphia beat the Astros in the NLCS en route to their World Series championship in 1980, back when the Astros were in the National League and the NLCS was a best-of-five. That series went the distance and then some -- Garry Maddox providing the series-winning hit with his tenth inning double in Game 5. The series also featured several all-time greats, most notably Pete Rose and Hall of Famers Steve Carlton, Joe Morgan, Nolan Ryan, and Mike Schmidt. New manager Bruce Bochy played in that series as well. Of course, what happened in 1980 has no bearing on what happens in 2022, and that's also true for the final series of this regular season, when the Astros and Phillies wrapped up against each other in Houston. The Astros won two of three, though the Phillies had just clinched a postseason berth and ran hangover lineups out there in Games 161 and 162. Anyway, with the World Series set to begin Friday night, let's lay out some bold predictions. Come with me, won't you? HOU DH #44 BA0.306R95HR37RBI97SB1 Unle s you haven't paid attention the last few postseasons, you know home runs reign supreme in October. It is extremely hard to string together hits and walks given the caliber of pitching these days, so your best bet is to put points on the board with one swing. The last few years tell you all you need to know: Runs per gameHome runs per game2022 regular season 4.28 1.07 2022 postseason 3.72 1.18 Runs per gameHome runs per game2021 regular season 4.53 1.22 2021 postseason 4.28 1.26 Those differences between the regular season and postseason have held steady for years; the last two seasons are not outliers. Run scoring goes down in October but the home run rate stays the same, if not increases. Homers Chris Clemons Jersey take on added importance in the postseason. You can win without the long ball. It's just really, really hard. It is no surprise then that three of the four most homer-happy World Series have come within the last six years. Here's are the four most homer-prolific Fall Cla sics in baseball history: 2017: 25 homers (15 Astros, 10 in 7 games) P. J. Tucker Jersey 2019: 22 homers (11 Astros, 11 in 7 games)2020: 21 homers (12 Dodgers, 9 in 6 games)2002: 21 homers ( 14, 7 in 7 games)For my first bold prediction, I will say the Astros and Phillies combine to set a new World Series home run record with 26. These two clubs ranked fourth and sixth in homers during the regular season, plus this series will be played in two better than average home run ballparks, . That's a recipe for dingers. That said, these pitching staffs were two of the four best in limiting home runs. That's what makes this bold. Non-homer staffs giving up homers. Ultimately, I think there is too much power and too much offensive talent packed into two favorable ballparks to bet against a lot of homers being hit. A new World Series record 26 homers will be hit. HOU 2B #27 BA0.300R103HR28RBI57SB18 OK, this isn't bold, because the Astros have already done the hard part. They are a perfect 7-0 this postseason thanks to their surgical dismantling of the and Yankees, though the games have been close. Four one-run wins, two two-run wins, and one five-run win. Houston hasn't boat raced anyone this October. The Astros' seven wins this year are one short of the most ever to begin a single postseason. Here are the longest winning streaks to begin a postseason. Obviously these are all recent because you need more rounds and more games to extend winning streaks. Back in the day, when you won your first four postseason games, that was it. You won the World Series. 2014 : 8 wins2022 Astros: 7 wins and counting2020 : 7 wins2007 : 7 wins2017 Dodgers: 6 wins2016 Cleveland: 6 winsFor this bold prediction, I will say the Astros match the 2014 Royals with eight straight wins to begin a postseason, but they will not break the record. So this bold prediction boils down to an Astros James Harden Jersey win in Game 1 and a Phillies win in Game 2. If we a sume each team has a 50/50 chance of winning each game (not realistic, but let's roll with it), an Astros win in Game 1 and a Phillies win in Game 2 has a 25 percent chance of happening. That qualify as bold? Well, how about this ... HOU SP #59 Houston Rockets Hats ERA2.82WHIP1.16IP201.1BB67K194 Any idea who threw the last complete game in the World Series? My first gue s was in 2014. That was a fine gue s, but it was incorrect. The last World Series complete game was in 2015. He struck out four in a two-hit, one-run complete game in Game 2 of the 2015 Fall Cla sic. At one point that night Cueto retired 15 straight batters. There have been only five World Series complete games this century -- Cueto in Game 2 in 2015, Bumgarner in Game 5 in 2014, Cliff Lee in Game 2 in 2009, Josh Beckett in Game 6 in 2003, and Randy Johnson in Game 2 in 2001 -- and it's been six years since the last postseason complete game. The last to do it was in Game 2 of the 2017 ALCS. My next bold prediction calls for a World Series complete game, but with a twist: it'll be a complete game . There were seven of those in nine-inning games during the regular season (plus a few in rain-shortened complete game lo ses, but those don't count), which is more than I would have gue sed. Complete games are becoming a rarity, especially in the postseason. There has not been a complete game lo s in the postseason since in Game 1 of the 2016 ALDS and there has not been a complete game lo s in the World Series since Tom Glavine in Game 4 of the 1992 World Series when he allowed two runs in eight innings in a 2-1 win. The last pitcher to throw nine innings in a World Series complete game lo s was Dave Stewart in Game 4 of the 1990 World Series. I'm going to tie this bold prediction into the last bold prediction and say , Houston's presumptive Game 2 starter, will become the first pitcher since Glavine to throw a complete game lo s in the World Series, and the first since Stewart to do it while throwing a full nine innings. This is how I envision it playing out: Valdez gives up a quick two-spot in the first inning. Let's call it a two-run homer in the Crawford Boxes.Valdez then settles down, including retiring 21 in a row at at one point. He needs only 98 pitches to get through nine innings. and the bullpen are dominant on Ralph Sampson Jersey the other end, stifling the Astros and making those two first inning runs hol