If you had not watched a baseball game all season until the World Series, well, I’d feel sorry for you: You missed a whole lot of amazing things. And you would be under one major misconception: You’d think the Astros can’t hit.
The Astros led the Majors in runs in 2021, and they averaged six runs per game in their ALCS victory over the Red Sox. But then they got to the World Series, and it all just stopped. Braves pitchers, and especially their relievers, made Astros hitters appear feeble — like they didn’t belong here, limiting them to a combined four runs in three victories while taking a 3-1 Series lead. And you wondered if the Braves would sneak out of this World Series with a championship before the Astros’ bats woke up.
They were close. But in Game 5, the Houston lineup looked like the Astros again. Perhaps buoyed by some lineup changes from Dusty Baker (and a surprising three-RBI night from light-hitting catcher Martín Maldonado), the Astros overcame a first-inning grand slam from Atlanta’s Adam Duvall by scoring and scoring and scoring some more in a 9-5 win to send the Series back to Houston for Game 6 on Tuesday night.
Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel each had three hits, and the whole team had a more patient approach all night, drawing six walks. The Braves looked like what they were: a team trying to make it through a World Series clincher against MLB’s highest-scoring team with a bullpen game. At last, the Astros made them pay for it. Now the Braves have their first loss of the postseason at home … a home they won’t see again until 2022.
The Astros’ reward is a trip back to Houston, and perhaps a seeding of some doubt in the minds of a Braves team that is all too aware of being in this exact spot before, having blown a 3-1 series lead to the Dodgers in the 2020 NLCS. The Braves built this 3-1 Fall Classic lead not by scoring a ton of runs themselves but by keeping the Astros’ bats in a slumber. Now the question is what happens now that those bats have been roused. The Braves may regret not finishing them off when they had the chance, because this is what the Astros have been all year. The Astros may have found themselves just in time.
— Will Leitch
This morning’s top news
Astros force Game 6: ‘Got to keep fighting’
Astros’ bats awaken to keep season going
What is Astros’ plan after Game 5 urgency?
Braves can’t navigate 2nd straight ‘pen game
Greinke makes history with pinch-hit single
Maldonado breaks out with 3-RBI game
Early HRs get Atlanta close, but ‘it’s a long game’
Atlanta ‘pen ready to rest, bounce back in G6
Braves-Astros Game 6 FAQ (Tues., 8 ET, FOX)
(3-2)
World Series Gm 6
Atlanta @ Houston
Minute Maid Park | Tue., 8:09 pm ET
(2-3)
Projected Lineups:
Max Fried, LHP #54
14-7 | 3.04 ERA | 158 K
Postseason: 1-2 | 5.40 | 23K
Luis Garcia, RHP #77
11-8 | 3.48 ERA | 167 K
Postseason: 1-2 | 7.62 | 18K
1. E. Rosario, LF
2. F. Freeman, 1B
3. O. Albies, 2B
4. A. Riley, 3B
5. J. Soler, DH
6. A. Duvall, CF
7. J. Pederson, RF
8. T. d’Arnaud, C
9. D. Swanson, SS
1. J. Altuve, 2B
2. M. Brantley, RF
3. A. Bregman, 3B
4. Y. Alvarez, DH
5. C. Correa, SS
6. K. Tucker, RF
7. Y. Gurriel, 1B
8. C. McCormick, CF
9. M. Maldonado, C
A few more things to see …
Beloved Red Sox broadcaster dies at 68
Jerry Remy, who realized his dream of playing second base for his hometown Red Sox and then became a local icon calling games on TV for more than three decades, died on Saturday.
Freddie Freeman hit the longest World Series home run tracked by Statcast.
Longest postseason homers since 2015
Few plays match the adrenaline rush of a grandiose homer in the playoffs.
Youth stars take center stage at World Series
Kids and youth baseball were a focal point of the off-field and pregame ceremonies during the Atlanta portion of the World Series, with multiple groups being recognized for various accomplishments and honors.
He’s home! Pujols walks off in LIDOM debut
Dominican baseball fans had to wait more than 20 years to see Albert Pujols play winter ball in his native country. But it didn’t take long for Pujols to make an impact.
World Series Game 5 Recap
Today’s Trivia Question
Who is the only pitcher to hit a home run in Game 7 of the World Series?
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