The Daily Sweat: Astros might be in a lot of trouble if they drop Game 2 to Braves

Atlanta Braves pitcher Charlie Morton threw 16 pitches, and got three outs, after breaking his leg on Tuesday night.

That could be a symbol for Morton's team. The Braves were underdogs throughout the playoffs, but now that they've gone this far they want to get the job done no matter the obstacles.

The Braves are up 1-0 in the World Series and can deliver a massive blow to the Houston Astros if they can win Game 2 on Wednesday night. The Braves are -105 at BetMGM, slight favorites against the Astros at -115. That nearly even line shows the Braves respect. Finally.

Even more respect: The Braves are now favored to win the World Series. They're -155 odds to win the title.

Winning Game 2 wouldn't guarantee a Braves title, but history says it would be tough for the Astros to come back. According to MLB.com, a team taking a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven has won the series in 74 of 88 instances. Of the 10 times a comeback from 2-0 has happened in a World Series, none has come since the 1996 New York Yankees. Those Yankees were a special case because they lost the first two games at home and still won the World Series. Of the 25 teams that lost the first two games of the World Series at home, only three came back to win the championship, via MLB.com. The 1985 Kansas City Royals and 1986 New York Mets also pulled it off.

Could Houston be the fourth team to win a World Series after falling behind 2-0 with two home losses? They have the talent if that does happen. But the Braves are on quite a roll.

Atlanta won Game 1 just like they've won most games this postseason. They hit timely home runs and patched together nine innings of fine pitching with three pitchers. The bullpen did fine work in the 6.2 innings after Morton, who pitched 2.1 total innings Tuesday night.

The Astros have urgency on their side in Game 2. They hit lefties well, and the Braves are starting lefty Max Fried on Wednesday. I like the Astros at smaller odds than they were getting in Game 1. But it's possible this is just the Braves' postseason.

Here's a first look at the sports betting slate for Wednesday:

Heat-Nets game highlights NBA slate

There are 10 games on the NBA schedule on Wednesday, and the best one happens in Brooklyn. The Miami Heat, a contender in the Eastern Conference that improved in the offseason, take on the preseason championship favorite Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are 4.5-point favorites.

The Nets, without Kyrie Irving, have gotten off to a 2-2 start. James Harden isn't getting calls with the NBA's new rules that don't reward shooters for moving into defenders just to get a whistle. The Nets are still figuring things out. Wednesday night will be a test.

Another interesting game in the NBA is the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are one of two teams without a win yet. The Lakers won an overtime game Tuesday without LeBron James and now have a tough back-to-back situation. The Lakers are 9.5-point favorites, which seems like a lot whether or not James plays on his sore ankle.

What's on tap in the NHL?

There are five games, including one really good one. The 6-0-0 Florida Panthers host the 3-1-0 Boston Bruins. The Panthers are playing very well, off to the best start in franchise history. They could take a further step toward establishing themselves as perhaps the NHL's best team with a win over the Bruins.

What's the best bet?

I'll take the Heat at +4.5. We all know the Nets' upside over the long term, but I like the Heat and think at the very least this will be a close one. It would be a heck of a playoff series if these two teams met.