Highlights from back-to-back 7th inning home runs from shortstop Dansby Swanson and a pinch hitter George Soler, the Braves beat the Astros 3-2 to take a 3-1 lead.
Atlanta could take the crown in front of their home audience on Sunday night.
Braves manager Brian Snitker, when asked how he felt going 3-1, said, “I just want to win tomorrow. I don’t know how confident I am.”
“I’m glad we’re quite honestly. I want to be above three to three, I guess. But I’ve been around too long to get ahead of myself.”
Houston had the most momentum in the opening innings of the game but failed to capitalize on the scoring opportunities.
The Astros trapped 11 baserunners and its hitters were 0-for-8 and the runners were in the scoring position.
Atlanta starter Dylan Lee took just one run out while handing the ball to Kyle Wright with bases loaded in the first innings.
But Wright allowed only one of his inherited runners to pass and gave the Braves a solid 4.2 innings of work in relief.
A single shot by Jose Altuve in the fourth inning was Wright’s only significant flaw, as Houston took a slim 2–0 lead through five innings.
Star third baseman Austin Riley got the Braves on the board with an RBI single in the 6th to the left. The 24-year-old also turned in a crucial defensive game in the second innings, robbing Altuve of the RBI on a hard sinking liner.
After homers from Swanson and Soler in the 7th, Altuve again fell victim to the Braves defense, as left fielder Eddie Rosario blasted off on the warning track at the top of the 8th to maintain Atlanta’s 3–2 lead. did.
The Braves played a perfect 9th inning close to Will Smith, leaving Yordan Alvarez off the field in front of first baseman Freddie Freeman for the final of the night.
Atlanta reliever Tyler Matzek won for the Braves, while Houston’s Christian Xavier – who allowed both Swanson and Soler’s homer – suffered a loss.
“They’re playing us hard. We’re playing really hard. We have to win tomorrow,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said.
“We have our backs to the wall so our men know what to do. There’s not much to say. We know what we have to do. We have to win tomorrow.”
Former President Donald Trump was in attendance at Game 4 and took part in a controversial “tomahawk chop” on Saturday.
CHOP – a stadium-wide chant and a longstanding tradition in Brave Games – has been renewed scrutiny as part of a national discussion about racism and racial imagery in professional sports.
Several advocacy groups and observers have accused Native American groups of ridiculing it and calling it racist. But many Brave fans, including Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp, have dismissed the criticism, and the stadium has led fans to chant in both Games 3 and 4 of the series.
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