Astros vs. Braves: The best player prop bets for World Series Game 5

Some late-inning magic courtesy of Dansby Swanson and Jorge Soler in Game 4 has the Atlanta Braves one win away from hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy as winners of the 2021 World Series!

Can the Houston Astros avoid elimination and bring the series back home for the final two games? Let’s start finding out as we dig into the matchup and discuss our three favorite prop wagers for Game 5.

Houston Astros at Atlanta Braves, 8:15 p.m. ET, FOX

Framber Valdez Over/Under 3.5 Strikeouts

Framber Valdez does not produce a high volume of strikeouts, and with Astros manager Dusty Baker likely to remove him at the first sign of trouble in this must-win Game 5, Under bettors should have enough of an edge here.

Valdez was knocked around for five runs in Game 1, and was pulled without recording an out in the third inning. He managed just two strikeouts in that fiasco.

But even in his eight-inning masterpiece in Game 5 of the ALCS (which now appears to have been a fluke, based on his combined 6.35 postseason ERA), Valdez managed only five strikeouts. He produced just 8.44 strikeouts per nine innings in the regular season, meaning he’d need to work at least four innings to accumulate four strikeouts, on average. These days, a starter going four innings in a World Series outing is far from guaranteed.

MLB pick: Under (+109)

Eddie Rosario Over/Under 0.5 Hits

NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario is making a case for World Series MVP if the Braves do indeed clinch their first championship since 1995. Bettors should anticipate another solid evening at the plate for him in Game 5.

Rosario is off to a 5-for-16 start at the dish in the Fall Classic, with two extra-base hits. He still boasts an incredible .426 batting average for the entire postseason. Prop players should side with Rosario finding the hit column once more.

MLB pick: Over (-215)

Alex Bregman Over/Under 0.5 Hits

After being hit by a pitch in Game 4 and clearly experiencing some pain, Alex Bregman took an 0-for-5 on Saturday night with two strikeouts, continuing a negative trend for the Astros’ third baseman.

Bregman has hit safely in only three of his last eight postseason games, batting .138 in that span (29 at-bats) with no extra-base tallies. Bettors should take advantage of the generous odds available on Bregman to come up short in Game 5.

MLB pick: Under (+172)