The series we’ve all been waiting for – the World Series! Things are all leveled up in the World Series, as the Braves won the first game, 6-2, then the Astros hit back instantly, winning the second game, 7-2. Looking at the outright World Series winner, the Astros are once again the favorites, at -140, with the Braves back as the underdogs, at +115.
Look below to find our free MLB picks for tonight’s World Series Game Three between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves!
Houston Astros @ Atlanta Braves (Game 3) – 8.09pm EDT
The World Series is heating up and after two games it’s 1-1, now the series moves to Atlanta for three games. Both games in the World Series to date have been fairly one sided, will this trend continue in the third game, or will it be a closer game that goes down to the wire?
Tim Newton
Well the Astros bounced back, winning 7-2, but I don’t think their victory was as dominant as Atlanta’s despite winning by one more run. They only recorded two more hits than the Braves, whereas Atlanta had four more hits in Game One, while the Atlanta defense made two errors in Game Two, to Houston’s none, while they had one each in the opener.
Yes, Houston has an incredible batting lineup and can score big amounts of runs in a short amount of time, but I honestly don’t think they have been as good as far through the first two games. I also don’t see that changing with this clash, given the Braves, for the third straight game, will have the better starting pitcher, and now this one is back at Truist Park. Both Ian Anderson (Braves) and Luis Garcia (Astros) have similar numbers from the regular season, with a 3.58 ERA/9-5 record and 3.48 ERA/11-8 record respectively. The difference is, Anderson has been much better in the postseason so far.
That’s more like it.#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/pcRrGW2jVZ
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 28, 2021
Both have pitched in three games so far, with Anderson logging 12 innings and giving up just three runs while Garcia has only logged 9.1 innings and has allowed a massive 10 runs. While Garcia looked better in his last game, pitching 5.2 innings for no runs on only one hit, his first two games saw him give up 10 runs in just 3.2 innings of work. Does his most recent performance show that he has turned a corner, or was it a one off and now he will return to the mean? I am banking on the latter, with Anderson being a much more consistent pitcher, at least this postseason. That should give the Braves the edge, at home, and I am banking on them taking the win, and the 2-1 series lead.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (-110)
Katherine Mouradian
Things are all leveled up in the World Series as we now head over to Atlanta for three games. It was all the Astros in the second game, which was an important win for them, as they certainly didn’t want to lose their first two home games of the World Series. Now in Atlanta, will the home field advantage pay off for the Braves, or can the Astros ride the momentum that they got in the second game?
It’s no secret just how offensively powerful the Astros are, they were the number one team in batting average in the league during the regular season, and they found their groove again in Game Two. They have a list as long as your arm of powerful hitters that can get the scoreline continuingly ticking over. We will see Garcia on the mound for the Astros in Game Three, and he has a postseason record of 1-1, which includes a 9.64 ERA, 12 strikeouts and seven walkouts. He has the second best record for strikeouts per nine innings at 11.6 for the Astros.
It’s going to be an uphill battle for the Braves, now that Morton will be out for the remainder of the World Series, it is going to be hard to find a pitcher to replace the great on the mound. The Braves lacked the batting power in the second game that they had in Game One, so they will be looking to get that back again. On the mound we will see Anderson, who during the postseason, has a record of 1-0, with a 2.25 ERA, 12 strikeouts and four walks in 12 innings.
The Astros have a good record on the road so far this postseason, at 11-5, and I think they will look to continue this in Game Three. But something that I should have done in the first and second game is back the over, so I’m not going to make that mistake three times in a row, the over is the way to go. Both offenses have proved themselves already in this series, and even if it’s just one team whacking the ball to all parts, like what happened in the first two games, it will be enough to get the over!
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Over 8.5 (-108)
Mike Su
The Astros go bang and take the second game of the series in a 7-2 blowout to equalize the series. In a solid performance, Jose Urquidy was able to slow down the Braves, holding them to 2 runs and 6 hits in 5 innings. Urquidy also had 7 strikeouts and posted a 3.6 ERA. The game got out of hand early for the Braves as they conceded 5 runs in the first 2 innings and were never able to comeback. This was quite the contrast to game 1 where the Braves scored 5 runs in the first 3 innings.
Going into game 3, the spotlight is on the Atlanta Braves who head home to try and take a definitive lead. The Braves will be starting Ian Anderson at pitcher. Anderson has been solid this year with a 3.58 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and a 9-5 record. Anderson has won all 3 of his playoff starts including 2 games against the Dodgers. Anderson should be able to slow down the strong Astros batting unit as highlighted by his performances against the Dodgers.
Heading back home to Atlanta. See you soon, Braves Country!#BattleATL pic.twitter.com/3MMgxPZrdo
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 28, 2021
The Astros will be starting Luis Garcia at pitcher. Garcia will be the key to this game. Garcia had a phenomenal game against the Red Sox in his last start with just 1 hit and 0 runs allowed. However in his 2 prior playoff games, Garcia allowed a staggering 10 runs in just 3.2 innings. Garcia needs to continue his antics from his last game to stand any chance against the league’s best batting team.
Overall I really like the Astros here as they showed why they were the best offense in the league this year. I have to take them in a close game.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Houston Astros (-106)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
