The Atlanta Braves entered the MLB Playoffs as the favorites to win the World Series. That shouldn't be surprising since they finished the season with the MLB's best record (104-58), most of which was powered by their record-setting offense. But the odds quickly dropped for the NL East champions after they were shutout in Game 1 of the NLDS by the Philadelphia Phillies.

How in the world did the best team in the league all season, which was overpowering teams with their offense, look so powerless? The Braves are by no means out of it, with a potential four games still left. However, there are reasons for concern with Atlanta entering Game 2.

4. History is against the Braves

There's only one team that has won the World Series with the best record in baseball in the last four seasons, and that's the Los Angeles Dodgers. That season, however, the 2020 pandemic-shortened season, has a huge asterisk next to it. The Dodgers finished with a 43-17 record, which can't be discounted. They were the best team in baseball during that season. But it wasn't a 160-game season.

The Dodgers won 111 games last season, yet were eliminated 3-1 in the NLDS, losing to the San Diego Padres. The San Francisco Giants the previous year, who surprisingly took the NL West from the Dodgers, won 107 games and were eliminated in the NLDS. The 2019 Houston Astros made it to the World Series but lost to the Washington Nationals in seven games.

Plus, who can forget the great 2001 Seattle Mariners, the winners of 116 games that lost to the New York Yankees in the ALCS, 4-1.

History doesn't predict the future, but the Braves have a lot of work ahead of them, overcoming a stigma of being the best team in the league yet coming up short.

3. The Braves were shut out against the Phillies in Game 1

Again, this keeps going back to the Braves being the best team in baseball this season. In nearly every offensive statistical category, the Braves were near the top, if not the top. They hit more home runs than anybody by a large margin and slugged better than anybody. Yet, they couldn't score a single run in their most important game to this point.

2. Suspect Max Fried starts Game 2

The Braves took a bit of a different approach to their bye this postseason and invited fans to simulated games where the Atlanta roster was separated into two teams facing one another. When Fried pitched in Tuesday's game, he went five innings, allowing six hits, three walks, and three runs (two earned). Kevin Pillar and Sean Murphy were responsible for most of this with their back-to-back homers.

Fried has been on and off the injured list this season, with his latest being a blister on his throwing hand.

“Right now, as far as visuals and the way it feels, it just feels like my finger is healed and back to normal,” Fried said of the blister.

“As far as the band-aid, it’s just more been a precaution of the times that I have thrown and being able to have that kind of friction on the ball, just to kind of protect it and give it as much time for the skin to heal as possible,” Fried added. “So we’ve just been leaning on the more cautious side, realizing that this is kind of what we’re waiting for, and for me to be as healthy as possible going into the playoffs.”

The Braves will need to hope Fried's blister is healed, as this could always be a lingering issue the rest of the way. The worry now is that there could be rust on Fried's end, as he has had little action against major league hitters this season.

1. The Braves have to win a game in Philadelphia

Getting wins early in a series in the postseason is crucial. It may not always guarantee the team wins the series, but it's still crucial, especially if you're the home team. The Braves needed to win Game 1 for a couple of reasons.

For one, they had their best pitcher on the mound in Spencer Strider, this year's strikeout king. And for the most part, Strider did his job, allowing one earned run on five hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts. The Braves just couldn't give him any run support.

Strider is their most talented, experienced, and healthiest pitcher entering the postseason. Bryce Elder, who will pitch Game 3 in Philadelphia, was an All-Star this season but has been rather shaky down the stretch. Playing in Philadelphia is no easy task, especially for a heated division rival that took the division in front of a Phillies crowd and gloated about it.

Even though it wouldn't have been ideal, the Braves could have afforded losses in Philadelphia if they won both at home and then took it back to Atlanta. But now having a must-win game on the road puts the pressure on the team that came in with the home-field advantage.