World Series Recap
The Atlanta Braves won their first World Series since 1995 after defeating the Houston Astros 7-0 in Game 6 on Tuesday night.
After winning three of the first four games, Atlanta lost Game 5 to shift the series back to Houston for Game 6 and a potential Game 7. With home field advantage on its side, it looked like Houston could make this a seven-game series, but Atlanta quickly shut that possibility down.
A 446-foot blast off the bat of Jorge Soler in the third inning gave the Braves the spark that led to their seven-run outburst.
Dansby Swanson added his own home run in the fifth inning, and Freddie Freeman added one more in the seventh to cap things off for the Atlanta offense.
Max Fried pitched himself out of a jam in the first inning following a near-disastrous play and proceeded to throw six innings of shutout baseball.
Will Smith and Tyler Matzek got the final nine outs out of the Atlanta bullpen.
Luis Garcia only lasted 2.2 innings for Houston, who used seven relievers in an attempt to save its season. Pitching struggles were seen by both teams this series, but in the end it was Houston’s staff whose struggles allowed for Atlanta to have an offensive outburst.
Brian Snitker and Dusty Baker both relied heavily on their depth in the series. Both were dealing with losses at the top of their rotation after Atlanta lost Charlie Morton in Game 1 and Houston lost Lance McCullers Jr. in the Divisional Series.
In the end, it was Snitker, who was forced to utilize two inexperienced pitchers, Dylan Lee and Tyler Davidson, to get through Games 4 and 5, that played his cards better.
Soler took home World Series MVP following a strong performance, capped off by his monster blast in Game 6. Soler hit .300 with three home runs, six RBIs and three walks in the series, and all three of those home runs gave Atlanta the lead.
Alex Anthopoulos, Atlanta’s general manager, made key moves at the deadline to get a team that was out of a playoff spot in early August to the World Series title. Anthopoulos acquired Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall and Soler while not giving away much of anything. All four of these players played significant roles throughout the postseason for Atlanta.
Houston’s offense never really got going in this series, despite scoring seven runs in Game 2 and 9 runs in Game 5. Michael Brantley hit .333 in the series, but Jose Altuve hit .222, Yordan Álvarez hit .100 and Alex Bregman hit .095. A power outage like this in the middle of the lineup is not a recipe for success.
Baseball is a game of momentum and Atlanta came in with more following its six-game upset of the Los Angeles Dodgers. For Houston, it is its second loss in three years following its title in 2017.
Both teams have big decisions ahead. For Houston, Carlos Correa, Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander will all hit free agency, and all have played big parts in the Astros’ recent success.
Freddie Freeman will be hitting the market for the Braves. Freeman has spent his entire career in a Braves uniform, with five all-star appearances, one MVP and now one World Series championship.
Soler and Rosario, two of those trade deadline acquisitions, are also set to hit the market.
Justin Ciavolella is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jtc5751@psu.edu.
