We don't know if we can say that the Atlanta Braves are the team no one saw coming, but they were not over the .500 mark until the first week of August, and had to play without Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mike Soroka, one of the better starting pitchers in the National League. 

But as BetOnline patrons know, here they are, with a 1-0 lead in the World Series with a chance to go up 2-0 over the Houston Astros with three games to be played in their home ballpark after this. 

Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Astros came with a cost, as Charlie Morton, the veteran (who has a ring with Houston from 2017) and leader of the pitching staff, cracked his fibula and had to leave the game, AND the Series. 

Whether they will miss him or not is another question. But they have a pretty good pitcher on the mound in Max Fried as they take on the Astros in the 8:09 PM ET start.

Houston turns to Jose Urquidy, who had a WHIP ratio under the 1.000 mark, but got hammered by the Red Sox in his ALCS outing.

The Braves got off to a better start than any team in World Series history in Game 1. Jorge Soler became the first player ever to begin the Series opener with a home run. It's a powerful thing (pardon the pun) that they have Soler in that spot, because he is a former American League home run champion (when he was with the KC Royals). 

Soler is just one of a number of additions to the offensive arsenal that were made at mid-season, when it was known that Ronald Acuna Jr., possessor of a .990 OPS and one of the more electrifying players in the National League, would be out for the second half of the season with an injury. 

Here are the World Series odds for Game 2, as they are posted by the folks at BetOnline: 

Houston Astros (Urquidy) -117
Atlanta Braves (Fried) +107

Over 9 Runs (+105)
Under 9 Runs (-125) 

Astros -1.5 Runs (+171)
Braves +1.5 Runs (-196) 

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Urquidy needs to improve on some of the stuff he's done lately, as he has given up 14 earned runs in the last 19 innings he's pitched. During that time he's surrendered six homers. And that should be something for manager Dusty Baker to be concerned about if things start to look rough. 

The Braves already had plenty of offensive punch, even without Acuna. But they made all these great acquisitions that have been a difference-maker. 

We've already talked about Soler. Then there is Joc Pederson, a prolific home run hitter from his days with the Dodgers. Adam Duvall came over from the Miami Marlins, and his season was unusual in that he wound up being the National League's RBI champion after being dealt to Atlanta. 

Then there's Eddie Rosario, who had three homers and hit .560 in the National League Championship Series, with the key blows making all the difference in the world against the Dodgers. He had two hits in five trips in Game 1. 

They can just go ahead and inscribe Alex Anthropoulos' name on the Executive of the Year award. No one would have thought this team could win a pennant without Acuna and a record below .500.

The fact is, Anthropoulos has assembled a team that has now won 20 of its last 25 games, and does not have to take a back seat at all to the offensive prowess of the Astros, who were #1 in batting average, #1 in runs scored, #2 in OPS and second best as far as avoiding strikeouts. 

If you remember, the Astros lost all four of their home games to Washington in the 2019 Series, so it's not a shocker at all if they don't win at Minute Maid Park. 

True, last time out, Fried gave up five runs in 4-2/3 innings. But he put together five really good performances after that. And three of those went seven innings or longer. So Brian Snitker probably won't be scared to leave him in.

Whether he does or not, we like the underdog BRAVES in Game 2. 

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