Houston Astros vs Philadelphia Phillies

Total: 6.5

Moneyline: Astros -168

It’s time! The MLB World Series kicks off tonight with Game 1 action! The Phillies will send Aaron Nola to the mound while the Astros will counter with Justin Verlander. This has the look of a pitcher’s duel and, as you can see above, the Astros are pretty big favorites. 

Don't forget to check out the MLB lineups page before locking in MLB daily fantasy lineups. Plus, use the MLB daily projections, our MLB DFS Optimizer, and the rest of our MLB DFS lineup tools before setting your lineups. Now let's look at our MLB DFS top picks for Friday, October 28. 

 

 

Captain/MVP

Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

JV had a monster year, going 19-4 with a 2.00 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 199 strikeouts across 185 innings of work. He faced the Phillies once this season and carved right through them, tossing five no-hit, shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in a win (scoring 34.7 dk points). 

Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies

JV is the chalk play at MVP, but Nola has a good case himself too. He had a 3.24 ERA on the year with a 0.97 WHIP and 253 strikeouts across 222.1 innings. He was slightly better on the road with a 3.17 ERA, compared to 3.32 at home. He faced the Astros once this year and was dominant, firing 6.2 shutout innings with nine strikeouts in a win, finishing with 35.8 dk points. 

Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros

Alvarez is slashing .325/.413/.600 over his last 10 games with two dingers, five doubles, and 16 total R+RBI. He had a 1.031 OPS at home this season, compared to .955 on the road (both are incredible though, obviously). 

Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies

The NLCS MVP is locked in right now, slashing .450/.463/.975 over his last 10 games with FIVE home runs, six doubles, and 20 total R+RBI; averaging 14.3 dk ppg in that span. He slashed .329/.391/.566 on the road this year, compared to .265/.347/.541 at home. 

 

Utility

Jeremy Peña, Houston Astros

The ALCS MVP is also on fire right now, slashing .349/.364/.767 over his last 10 games with FIVE dingers and 19 total R+RBI. He was much better at home this season, slashing .272/.301/.473, compared to .232/.273/.397 on the road. 

Chas McCormick, Houston Astros

McCormick has been ballin’ lately, slashing .321/.424/.571 over his last 10 games with two home runs and seven runs scored. He had an .806 OPS at home this season, compared to .705 on the road. 

Yuli Gurriel, Houston Astros

Gurriel has been performing very well, slashing .333/.350/.487 over his last 10 games with two home runs and a stolen base. He was slightly better at home this season and his price tag is extremely cheap. 

Martín Maldonado, Houston Astros

Maldonado is starting behind the dish for Game 1 and he is a nice punt play at a super cheap price (cheapest starter in the game tonight). He had 15 home runs this season, so there is a bit of upside with him (albeit not much). 

Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies

Schwarber is who he is, a bad hitter who hits bombs. He had 47 dingers this season and he has three over his last 10 games (despite hitting just .226 in that span). I would NOT have him in my lineup tonight if entering just one lineup, but he is worth having exposure to in multi-entry. 

Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies

Castellanos is one of the only Phillies who was better on the road this season than at home as he slashed .269/.309/.383 away from Philly, compared to .251/.295/.382 at home. I don’t see him having super high ownership tonight and his price tag isn’t too shabby, 

Jean Segura, Philadelphia Phillies

Segura is the only player with a solid amount of BvP data today and he is a solid 4-14 (.286) with a home run against Verlander in his career. He provides a little pop and a little speed upside at a cheap price.