Houston Astros at Atlanta Braves World Series 3 Betting Preview
Tied at one win apiece, the World Series shifts to the state of Georgia for Game 3 as the Houston Astros (1-1) take on the Atlanta Braves (1-1). The Braves will host this one from Truist Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:09 pm ET.
After dropping Game 1, the Astros bounced back on Wednesday with a 7-2 victory over Atlanta. In the win, Jose Urquidy picked up the win after going five innings and allowing just two runs.
Offensively, Jose Altuve went two for five with a home run, his 22nd career postseason homer. In total, the Astros had seven runs on nine hits.
Max Fried picked up the loss for Atlanta as he gave up six runs in five innings of work. Still, after giving up five in the first two innings, he was still able to help preserve the bullpen by working at least through the fifth.
Travis d’Arnaud was the only Brave who had a multi-hit game as he went two for four with a home run in the second inning.
This game is basically a coin flip as the Astros’ moneyline sits at -106 while the Braves’ sits at -110. The runline features Atlanta +1.5 (-192), and the over/under for total runs is 8.5.
Pitching Matchup
The Astros will turn to rookie Luis Garcia to take the ball in Game 3. This postseason, he is 1-1 with a 9.64 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts in 9.1 innings of work.
During the regular season, Garcia went 11-8 with a 3.48 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and had 167 strikeouts in 155.1 innings.
The Braves will counter with righty Ian Anderson. He has been solid this postseason, going 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts over 12 innings of work.
Anderson went 9-5 with a 3.58 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and had 124 strikeouts in 128.1 innings during the regular season.
By The Numbers
This season, the Astros have had the best offense in baseball. They rank atop the list in terms of scoring, averaging 5.40 runs per game. The Braves rank ninth, averaging 4.84 runs.
In terms of defense, the Braves hold the edge. They rank fifth in scoring defense allowing opponents an average of 4.03 runs per game. The Astros rank seventh allowing 4.09 runs.
Houston Looks To Regain Home Field Advantage
After dropping Game 1 of the World Series, the Astros would love nothing more than to repay the favor and steal back the home-field advantage with a win in Game 3.
Leading the way for Houston’s offense is Yordan Alvarez. With no designated hitter in the National League, it will be interesting to see how Dusty Baker configures his lineup to get Alvarez in.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see Kyle Tucker in the center, Michael Brantley in the right, and Yordan Alvarez in the left, although they would certainly be giving up some defense with that alignment.
This postseason, Alvarez is hitting .410/.529/.769 with two home runs, nine runs batted in, 13 runs scored, and ten walks.
Short On Pitching, Snitker Hopes Anderson Can Pick Up Win In Game 3
Especially with Charlie Morton out for the rest of the World Series, the Braves all of a sudden find themselves short on starting pitching. With a possible bullpen game looming, manager Brian Snitker is hoping that Anderson can go deep in Game 3 and try to find a way to pick up the win.
Offensively, Freddie Freeman has been one of their most consistent hitters this postseason. He is currently hitting .293/.434/.561 with three home runs, eight runs batted in, and six runs scored.
After tearing it up for most of the postseason, Eddie Rosario has struggled a bit in the World Series. He is currently two for nine with just a single run, and no runs batted in.
Through the first two games, Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler, and Travis d’Arnaud have all homered for Atlanta.
Taking Atlanta And The Runs
These teams are just so similar. They both have offenses that can absolutely rake, and they both have starting pitching that are solid but not spectacular.
With so many similarities, it wouldn’t be shocking to see this series go back and forth throughout. With no team clearly having an advantage, the runline may be the best bet.
For that reason, take Atlanta +1.5.
