ATLANTA — We shift from Texas to Georgia (with some slight rain) here for Game 3 of the 2021 World Series between the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves. Both teams enjoyed one comfortable victory in Houston, leaving us tied at one game apiece heading to Truist Park.
As has been and will continue to be the case, I’m doing the game picks over on SportsLine. I’ve gone 21-9-1 thus far in the playoffs — so hop on over there and subscribe.
In this space, we’ll focus on props, the over/under and other fun. We nailed under 8.5 runs by the skin of our teeth in the 6-2 final score in Game 1, so let’s keep the good times rolling.
All odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.
Featured Game | Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros
Over 8.5, -110
Both of these offenses have looked high-powered for several months. Both pitching staffs are totally fickle and are not to be trusted. It seems like too easy a formula here, especially since it’s cold and rainy, but it’s hard for me to see fewer runs than, say, a 5-4 final.
Braves starter Ian Anderson is the best bet in this one and he’s thrown well in the playoffs thus far. He’s also only lasted five, three and four runs, respectively, in his postseason starts to this point. It wasn’t due to pitching poorly, but instead he was pinch hit for twice due to the Braves having a rally and manager Brian Snitker wanting to aggressively pursue the big inning. That’ll happen again with Luis Garcia being on the mound for the Astros.
Garcia has a 9.64 ERA in his three postseason starts. He was great last time out, but still was pulled in the sixth.
We’re gonna see a lot of bullpen here and at least one team is going to hang a few crooked numbers again.
Ian Anderson over 4.5 strikeouts, +100
Gut feeling? Perhaps. Anderson does have great stuff when he’s on. He’s struck out around a batter per inning to this point in his career. The Astros are tough to strikeout, but they’ve also done so 22 times this series.
Most importantly, though, is that no Astros regulars have ever faced Anderson in the majors. He’s brand new to them. As I often preach in this space, that’s a big advantage to the pitcher, in general. Let’s get some punchouts!
Bonus: Carlos Correa home run, +450
Jose Altuve busted out of his mini-slump in Game 2 and we’ll ride his double-play ‘mate in Game 3. Correa is 1 for 14 in his last four games. He’s too good to keep hitting so poorly, so it’s time for a breakout. He was hitting .367/.441/.567 in the playoffs before this recent slide and he’s coming off a regular season that’ll get him some down-ballot votes in AL MVP. The potential is there and we’ll hope that he makes good on it in Game 3.
