Series Preview: Braves vs Astros in World Series Rematch

The Houston Astros head to Atlanta this weekend to face the Braves for the first time since the World Series last year, where the Astros lost in 6 games.

The Houston Astros continue to be one of the hottest teams in baseball right now, currently sitting with a comfortable 11.5-game lead in their division and having the best record in the AL.

This weekend, they’ll travel southeast to face one of the top teams in baseball, the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are coming off a series win against the red-hot New York Mets, taking three of the four games and gaining some traction on New York’s division lead. As we know, the last time these teams played each other, the Braves were celebrating their first World Series Championship since 1995. The Astros hope to get some revenge this series, although it won’t be easy playing at Truist Park.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups for each game in this series.

Game 1: Lance McCullers Jr. (0.00 ERA) vs Kyle Wright (3.14 ERA)

Lance McCullers will be making his second start of the season; he’s coming off a shutout performance against the Oakland A’s. As for Kyle Wright, he’s coming off a marvelous start himself against the Red Sox, only giving up one run in his six innings pitched.

Game 2: Cristian Javier (2.96 ERA) vs Spencer Strider (3.04 ERA)

Cristian Javier is coming off a scoreless start against the Oakland A’s, striking out six batters in his six innings on the mound. Meanwhile, rookie Spencer Strider is coming off a solid start against the Mets, only giving up one run in five innings pitched.

Game 3: Jose Urquidy (3.69 ERA) vs Charlie Morton (4.04 ERA)

Jose Urquidy is coming off a good start against the Chicago White Sox, only giving up one run in 7.2 innings pitched but giving up six hits and only striking out four batters. As for Charlie Morton, he recently made what was arguably his best start of the season against the Mets, striking out 12 and giving up no runs in 6.2 innings pitched.

The Braves will end up avoiding Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia this series which is a huge relief for them. All three pitching matchups are fairly even between both teams; in this series, it’s going to come down to which offense comes out hot.

Players to watch for:

• HOU/3B Alex Bregman – (Last 7 Days) .375 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI
• ATL/1B Matt Olson (Last 7 Days) .242, 4 HR, 9 RBI
• ATL/OF Michael Harris (Last 7 Days) .286, 2 HR, 6 RBI