Braves vs. Astros MLB | World Series Game 1

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The World Series begins Tuesday from Houston with the AL champion Astros as Game 1 and series favorites on the MLB odds against the NL champion Atlanta Braves. There is one unique tie between the franchises: Braves manager Brian Snitker is the father of Astros hitting coach Troy Snitker.

How to Bet Atlanta at Houston MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Tuesday, 8:09 PM ET
Where: Minute Maid Park
Probable pitchers (away/home): Charlie Morton/Framber Valdez
TV: Fox
Stream/gameday audio: Fox Sports Go
Opening MLB Lines: Astros -135, Braves +125 (total 8.5)

Why Bet on Atlanta?

The Braves advanced to the World series with a 4-2 win over the Dodgers in Game 6 on Saturday. Eddie Rosario hit a go-ahead three-run homer off of Walker Buehler in the fourth inning to propel the Braves to their first World Series berth since 1999. Rosario finished with 14 hits in the NLCS — tied for the most ever by a player in a single postseason series. Rosario was named MVP of the NLCS. He’s slashing .474/.524/.789 with three homers and 11 RBI on the postseason.

Closer Will Smith slammed the door on the Dodgers season on Saturday, working a scoreless ninth. Smith has been terrific this postseason, firing seven scoreless innings with a 0.71 ERA and 7/2 K/BB ratio. Tyler Matzek was tremendous in the series as well and boasts a 1.74 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 17/4 K/BB ratio over 10 1/3 innings during the postseason.

Atlanta will get one big bat back in Jorge Soler. Because Soler wasn’t vaccinated against CVID, he was still subject to regular testing, even when he was not showing any symptoms. This led to him testing positive on Oct. 12, a few hours before the Braves played the decisive Game 4 of their NLDS against the Brewers.

Soler has played an adequate right field and he hit 14 homers with an .882 OPS in the 55 games he played after being acquired from the Royals on July 30. He served as the Braves’ leadoff hitter over the final two weeks of the regular season. However, Rosario likely will stay in the leadoff spot.

It’s Charlie Morton on the mound for Game 1. He pitched in Game 3 of the NLCS vs. the Dodgers and was unusually wild in walking six but managed to limit the Dodgers to two runs over five innings, taking a no-decision in the Braves’ loss. Morton used to pitch for the Astros and won a title with them in 2017. Morton was outstanding in the regular season with a 14-6 record, 3.34 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 10.47 K/9, 2.81 BB/9 and 4.6 WAR across 33 starts and 186 innings.

Morton faced the Astros as a member of the Rays in the 2019 American League Division Series, won by Houston, and the ’20 AL Championship Series, won by Tampa Bay. In his most recent World Series appearance, Morton allowed five runs over 4 1/3 innings in a Game 3 loss to the Dodgers a year ago while with Tampa Bay.

Why Bet on Houston?

The Astro s advanced with a 5-0 win over the Red Sox in Game 6 of the ALCS on Friday. Yordan Alvarez went 4-for-4 with a triple and two doubles. For the series, Alvarez slashed .522/.538/.870 with six runs scored, 12 hits, three doubles, a triple, one home run, six RBI and 20 total bases to win ALCS MVP honors.

He became the third player in MLB history to collect at least four hits and three extra-base hits in a potential clinching LCS game, joining Adam Kennedy (2002 ALCS) and Paul Blair (1969 ALCS). Alvarez now has 11 career extra-base hits. That’s tied for fifth in MLB postseason history among players younger than 25-years-old, trailing Carlos Correa (15), Hall of Famer Chipper Jones (14), Albert Pujols (14), Kris Bryant (12) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (12). Alvarez has scored a run and notched a hit in each of his last five games dating back to Game 2 of the ALCS. That’s tied for the second-longest such streak in Astros postseason history within a single season with Lance Berkman (5, 2004) and Hall of Famer Craig Biggio (5, 2004), and trails only Carlos Beltrán (9, 2004).

Overall, he hit .522 for the ALCS, and he was named MVP of the series afterwards. The Houston Astros have advanced to their fourth World Series in franchise history, previously doing so in 2019, 2017 and 2005. They won it in 2017. The Astros are the first club to win three AL pennants across a five-year span since the Yankees reached the World Series in three-of-four years from 1999-2003.

Dusty Baker has become the ninth manager in Major League history to reach the World Series after winning the pennant in both leagues, joining Hall of Famers Yogi Berra, Sparky Anderson, Tony La Russa, Dick Williams and Joe McCarthy, as well as Joe Maddon, Jim Leyland and Al Dark.

A decision on injured centerfielder Jake Meyers (shoulder) is pending. Rosters don’t have to be turned into the league until Tuesday morning. The Astros couldn’t replace Meyers on their ALCS roster because the injury occurred before the series started, but he was available to pinch-hit and pinch-run later in the series.

It’s lefty Framber Valdez on the mound. Valdez went eight innings while allowing just a run in Game 5 of the ALCS in his last start. The 27-year-old threw six scoreless innings before allowing a solo shot to Rafael Devers in the seventh. He was 11-6 with a 3.14 ERA during the regular season and is 1-0 with a 4.20 ERA in three playoff starts this year.