With a 7-0 win against the Houston Astros, the Atlanta Braves took the World Series on Tuesday in a remarkable turnaround from a stellar performance through midsummer to the championship in November.
After taking six games to send the Astros, the Braves missed out on becoming the first Major League Baseball team to win eight consecutive post-season games at home; The team lost after going 4-0 in the first innings at Truist Park on Sunday night.
The teams went back to Houston’s Minute Maid Park, with Atlanta leading the series 3–2.
This time no one came back from Houston.
It was all the brave batsmen from the third innings to the seventh. In the third, right fielder George Soler hit a three-run homer.
Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer in the fifth. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman then hit a ball to deep left field and Soler, who was on-base, scored for Atlanta’s 6–0 lead.
Freeman returned to left field for a single homer to put the Braves 7–0 ahead.
“We’ve seen a lot of ups and downs this year, and to be world champion, it’s great to hear that,” Freeman said after the game.
Atlanta took advantage of the pitching fatigue that was anticipated for both teams, but Houston did not have the same answer at bat. The Braves pitcher Max Fried lasted six innings and gave 4 hits and scored no runs.
“I couldn’t be happier doing this with this group of people,” Fried said.
It is Atlanta’s first World Series title in 26 years.
“Everybody who is in the World Series right now, everybody, everybody is missing,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said on Monday. “Both teams, all players. It’s been a long year.”
The Braves essentially rebuilt their outfield before the July 30 trade deadline and ended the club’s National League East-winning season with only 88 wins, the fewest of any playoff team.
But the summer takeovers – Adam Duvall, Jock Pedersen, Eddie Rosario and Soler – have been recognized for putting the Braves on a championship track.
“It’s a great moment for this city,” Swanson said after the Braves won Saturday’s home match.
Among the heroes of the downfall of the Braves has been Kyle Wright, who spent most of the season in the minor leagues. On Saturday, he restricted the Astros to two runs until Atlanta’s offense could bounce back for a 3-2 win.
The team’s 1995 title win at the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was its only World Series crown since its move from Milwaukee to 1966.
The Braves’ march to the championship included defeating the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series in March for the Pennant with a 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Associated Press has contributed.