2021 World Series predictions: Will the Braves beat the Astros?

The Atlanta Braves will take on the Houston Astros in the 2021 World Series which gets underway Tuesday. The Braves are underdogs again for the series but that shouldn’t be surprising since they have been an underdog since the postseason began. If you missed our earlier round predictions, you can find them here for the NLCS against the Dodgers and the NLDS against the Brewers.

Who will win the 2021 World Series?

Kris: I said the Braves would beat the Dodgers in seven for no good reason at all. They one upped me by winning in six. Atlanta wasn’t supposed to be the better team this postseason but so far, they have been. Braves in six.

Ivan: Braves were generally not favored to win the division. They weren’t favored to beat the Brewers. They weren’t favored to beat the Dodgers. They aren’t favored to beat the Astros. You get the idea. The only thing working against them is the other cosmic source of gravity, the one where from 2018 to now, they’ve stepping stone’d their way through the postseason.

Stephen: The Astros are better but better doesn’t really matter at this point. The Braves are playing out of their minds and just outplayed a Dodgers team that was also better. Braves in six.

Eric: There are a lot of reasons to not pick the Braves and most of those lie with how much I respect what the Astros’ offense can do. However, I think the Astros’ pitching staff is suspect and the Braves just beat what I think is a better team in the Dodgers and I can’t ignore the team of destiny vibes any longer. Braves in seven.

DJourn: Can the Braves bullpen hold up for another 10 days? Can someone else pick-up the slack when Eddie Rosario becomes human again? Braves in six for no other reason than why not?

Daniel: I picked the Braves in the NLDS (sort of) and the Dodgers in 5 (whoops) in the NLCS. The Astros have a really good offense, but I am just very unimpressed at their pitching, so I’m taking the Braves in six.

Demetrius: My brain had the Braves beating the Brewers. My brain didn’t have the Braves getting to the World Series. My brain doesn’t have them winning the World Series (going Astros in 6, officially). But if they can get the same level of pitching they’ve had throughout this Postseason (which is totally feasible) and can continue to rack up timely hits, I can see a World Series championship parade happening somewhere in the Atlanta metro area pretty soon.

Dillon: Braves in five. If Atlanta could navigate the Dodgers’ explosive lineup, I have faith they can do the same with Houston. The major difference being that the Astros have nowhere near the pitching depth that Los Angeles possessed, and their best arms are likely to operate in very short stints. Sunday night Rob Manfred will have to present The Commissioner’s Trophy to the Braves in Truist Park. I can’t imagine a more beautiful sight.

Wayne: I predicted the Yankees over the Braves in seven in the preseason. I think the Braves matchup with the Astros very well, though. I’ll take Charlie Morton, Max Fried and playoff Ian over the ‘Stros rotation. The Braves have shown they can hang in a slugfest, the way the bullpen (at least most of it) and Big Three are performing, I think the Braves win in six.

Matt: Braves in 7. The Braves starting pitching is significantly better, while the Astros offense is significantly better. It’s going to be a fight between the two with some high scoring games mixed with a few lower scoring games. I think that the pitching edge will give us a slight edge, especially the fact the Braves can go lefty heavy to counter two of Houston’s hottest bats in Alvarez and Tucker.

Cassidy: I have Braves in 6. I think it’s an epic chess match of great pitching and great offense. It’s always been said that great pitching shuts down great offense that’s where the Braves have the edge. Also we’ve been able to limit the big innings and strand base runners with 2 outs especially and that’s where the Astros have been money. Limiting that has been key to this run.

Offensively our power and patience combo is deadly working counts laying off pitches not letting them off the hook as much as possible with the lack of pitching depth the Astros have Lastly,the little things Astros are so dynamic offensively you can’t give away outs or give extra outs I.e base running limiting walks and moving guys over. We are in a great spot let’s finish this thing!!

Shawn: My head is telling me one thing, while my heart is telling me another. I do feel the Astros are rightfully the favorite, and goodness, is their lineup good. They have plenty of experience, have been on this stage before, with some of the most productive bats in MLB postseason history.

But this Braves team has a different type of experience. Though its only a few months old, its tried and tested multiple times over. They are the underdogs who are not supposed to be here, and yet they prove to be the better team no matter who they face. While this is based more on hope and belief than data and stats, Braves in six.

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