The series we’ve all been waiting for – the World Series! The Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros have fought off all the competition and now it’s down to a seven game series to determine who will be crowned the 2021 World Series champions. Looking at the outright World Series winner, the Astros are currently the favorites, at -150, with the Braves the underdogs, at +125.
Look below to find our free MLB picks for tonight’s World Series Game One between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros!
Atlanta Braves @ Houston Astros (Game 1) – 8.09pm EDT
It’s Game One of the World Series and the first two games will be played in Houston, before moving over to Atlanta. The Braves won the NLCS against the Dodgers, 4-2, and the Astros won the ALCS against the Red Sox, also 4-2. Who will get the all important Game One win under their belt and start the World Series off the right way?
Tim Newton
Well, well, well, the Astros and Braves have made it through to the big dance. While the Astros have been near the top of favoritism to win the World Series for quite some time, the Braves have come out of nowhere to make it to the final series of the season.
Atlanta had the worst regular season record of all 10 teams to make it into the postseason but were dominant against both the Brewers and Dodgers in their last two series. Unlike Houston, the Braves have been doing it on both sides of the ball, ranking fourth offensively and defensively throughout the postseason. On the other hand, Houston, who also did it relatively effortlessly against the White Sox and Red Sox so far, have been more offense-dominant, ranking second for OPS compared to just sixth for ERA.
Tomorrow: The final battle begins.#BattleATL | #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/1GYUPMpF6E
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 26, 2021
Looking at the starting pitchers, Atlanta has the upper hand with Charlie Morton starting on the mound. While he is just 0-1 from three starts, Morton has a 3.77 ERA in the postseason, following on from his 3.34 ERA from 33 starts in the regular season. From his 14.1 innings in the postseason, Morton has given up just six runs, while recording 19 strikeouts.
On the other hand, Houston has Framber Valdez with the ball first up and he has been a bit more expensive than Morton so far this postseason. Through three games, Valdez may have a 1-0 record, but his ERA is 4.20 and from 15 innings of work, he has given up 8 runs while recording just 13 strikeouts.
That certainly gives Morton and Atlanta the edge in this clash, but does it mean they will come out on top in this one? Admittedly, the Braves may have had a Championship Series matchup, as the Dodgers didn’t look quite as strong as the Red Sox, especially offensively. However, I think defeating the defending champs holds some merit and given they will have the advantage early on, I like the Braves to steal Game One of the 2021 World Series.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (+116)
Katherine Mouradian
And then there were two! The Braves and the Astros will face off against each other in a best of seven World Series to see who will be the 2021 champs. The Braves finished top of the NL East, with a record of 88-73, which was actually the lowest number of wins for any team that finished first in a division. In the NLDS, the Braves faced off against the Brewers and won 3-1, and in the NLCS, they faced off against the Dodgers and won 4-2. The Astros finished top of the AL West, with a record of 95-67. In the ALDS, the Astros faced off against the White Sox and won 3-1, and in the ALCS, they faced off against the Red Sox and won 4-2.
The Braves have been scoring for fun as of late, and they have averaged five runs per game in their last five games. They were too good for the star studded Dodgers, which should give them a lot of confidence coming into this game. With the offensive power of the Braves, it is important their pitching is also on point, to starve the Astros, who are also very powerful with the bat. For the Braves, we have Morton stepping up on the mound, to take on his old team! He has an ERA of 3.34, a WHIP of 1.04 along with 216 strikeouts, but he is yet to earn his team a win in of his three previous playoff appearances so far. One thing that could give Morton some confidence is his record on the road, which sits at 8-3, with an ERA of 3.06.
The Astros are clearly the most powerful team in the league when it comes to offense. They will be looking to Alvarez, who is leading the Astros in home runs and RBIs, to help hit his team to victory in Game One. The Astros will be looking to put pressure on former teammate Morton, who will be starting for the Braves, and therefore bring the bullpen into play early. We will be seeing Valdez, who has an ERA of 3.14, on the mound for the Astros, and he is brimming with confidence after he helped his team get a great win against the Red Sox last time out.
Both teams have been great offensively so far this postseason. It will be interesting to see how this game shakes out, because the two teams don’t usually play against each other, so there will be a lot of trying to feel each other out. Although, the Astros batters will know how Morton pitchers, as he was a part of the Astros not too long ago, so this may very well give them the edge. Also, with the Astros playing at home here, I’m going to have to give my pick to the Astros for the win.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Houston Astros (-136)
Mike Su
We have finally reached the pinnacle of baseball, the World Series. The Astros take on the Atlanta Braves in a matchup that will decide which team is immortalized in history. Surprisingly this will be the first time these two teams meet this season as they didn’t play each other during the regular season. The Astros have the edge going into this series as the best batting team during the regular season while the Braves sit at 8th with 790 runs scored. However the Braves are not to be dismissed as they slayed the Dodgers in 6 games which was the best all round team in the league. Defensively, both teams sit in a similar standing as the Astros ranked 7th in the league in runs allowed with 658 while the Braves are 6th with 656 allowed runs.
Ready for war.#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/hgJ7FRIp0M
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 24, 2021
In this first game of the World Series, the Braves will be starting Charlie Morton. Morton was great in the regular season with a 3.34 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 216 strikeouts leading to a 14-6 record. Morton has been slightly worse in the playoffs with a 3.77 ERA with a 1-2 record. He has been solid though, allowing just six runs in 14 innings.
The Astros will be starting Framber Valdez, who had a 3.14 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 125 strikeouts in the regular season leading to a 11-6 record. Valdez has been somewhat better in the playoffs leading the Astros to three wins but has allowed eight runs in 15 innings leading to a 4.2 ERA. However his last performance against the Red Sox where he led the Astros to a definitive 9-1 win behind his eight innings masterclass, does give me plenty of confidence going into Game One. I think Valdez has the slight edge due to form, and combine that with the fact the Astros are at home, I’m going to pick the Astros here.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Houston Astros (-136)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
