There were plenty of runs scored by both the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves en route to the World Series, and both teams send pitchers with track records of success to the mound in Game 1 on Tuesday night to try to shut the other down.
The Astros enter having scored at least five runs in 12 of their 13 games this month, but Braves starter Charlie Morton knows this team well as he was Houston’s winning pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series in 2017.
Morton has surrendered just six home runs across 99 ¹/₃ innings on the road between the regular season and postseason with a 3.17 ERA compared to a 3.67 ERA and 1.2 home runs per nine innings allowed in Atlanta.
The Astros hand the ball to Framber Valdez. He has the only start of this postseason that lasted eight innings, doing so while allowing one run in the team’s win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 5 of the ALCS. Valdez enters having pitched in seven career postseason games with a 2.77 ERA and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of those appearances.
Between the NLCS and ALCS, nine of the 12 games went over the total. But two veteran pitchers who can provide length will produce a low-scoring opening game of the World Series.
The play: Braves-Astros total, Under 8.5 runs.