Braves and Jorge Soler begin Game 1 with a bang

8:35 PM ET

The 2021 World Series has arrived. The Atlanta Braves face the Houston Astros in Game 1 on Tuesday night.

The Astros, with their sign-stealing scandal hanging over the past two years, are in their third Fall Classic in the past five seasons. The Braves return for the first time since 1999. Atlanta is looking to snap a streak of 16 straight postseason appearances without a title. That drought is the longest in Major League Baseball history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

It is also an unlikely World Series matchup. Atlanta did not have a winning record until Aug. 6 and entered the postseason with 88 wins, the fewest of any team. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the Braves were underdogs against both the 95-win Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS and the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. By winning the pennant, Atlanta became just the third team to win a playoff series against a team that had 18 or more regular-season wins. The Braves are also missing Ronald Acuna Jr., one of the team’s best players, who tore his right ACL in July.

Houston entered the season with 22-1 odds to win the World Series, according to Caesar’s Sportsbook, but became the American League favorite in June. The Astros also led the league in runs scored in the regular season.

Ready for Game 1? Charlie Morton will start for the Braves, with Framber Valdez going for the Astros.

Here are the best plays and moments from the World Series:

Beginning with a bang

The World Series began with a big bang off the bat of Braves designated hitter Jorge Soler when he smacked a 2-0 sinker from Framber Valdez into the Crawford Boxes in left field. Some history here: Soler is the first player to lead off the top of the first inning with a home run — and he did it against a pitcher who is tough to go yard on, as Valdez allowed a 70% groundball rate in the regular season, best among starters in the majors. Austin Riley later doubled in Ozzie Albies, who had reached on an infield single and stole second, for the quick 2-0 lead. Riley’s double came on a 3-0 count, so Valdez’s inability to get ahead hurt him early.

Leading into the game, the pundits and analysts wondered if Braves manager Brian Snitker should have left Eddie Rosario in the leadoff spot, where he had thrived in winning MVP honors in the NLCS. But with the ability to add Soler to the lineup in the DH role, Snitker went with the platoon matchup and hit Soler leadoff, where he had thrived in September, and moved Rosario back down to the fifth spot. This will also make it harder for Dusty Baker to use one of left-handed relievers later in the game against Freddie Freeman, as Freeman has Soler in front of him instead of Rosario, and the switch-hitting Albies (who crushes lefties) behind him. — David Schoenfield

Braves’ starter Morton managed to get out of a bases-loaded situation in the bottom half of the inning.

Arrivals

A most Atlanta pregame meal

Waffle House is a big deal in the South. Smothered, covered, chunked and capped. Or, smothered, covered, chunked and peppered. If you know, you know. Its headquarters is in Norcross, Georgia, outside Atlanta, and Waffle House was there to hype up the Braves.

Braves pitcher Tucker Davidson, who is not on the postseason roster, saluted his team with a hearty Waffle House spread.

Local teams are ready

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