Who will win the 2021 World Series- the Houston Astros or the Atlanta Braves? Time to crown a champion! Here we go!
(HOU vs. ATL - best-of-7 series)
[GAME 1] Atlanta drew first blood in the 2021 World Series on a solo homer to left. The Braves take a 1-0 lead on a leadoff homer in the Top of the 1st. They scored again on a deep RBI to left center to make it 2-0. Framber Valdez getting rocked early. Though the Astros tagged out one runner, another run scored by Atlanta to make it 3-0, Braves in the Top of the 2nd. Adam Duvall crushes a two-run homer to make it 5-0 for the Braves. The Atlanta Braves became the first team in World Series history to score in each of the first three innings in Game 1 of the World Series. Framber Valdez was immediately taken out as pitcher for the Astros after a poor pitching performance. The Astros finally picked up an RBI thanks to a one-out error by the Braves in the Bottom of the 4th. The Braves lead was now trimmed to 5-1 after that gaffe. Atlanta's Charlie Morton (and former Astro on the 2017 World Series-winning team) had left the game suffering a right fibula injury earlier in the game and would no longer be available for the World Series. A sacrifice fly in the Top of the 8th lead to the Braves making the score 6-1. An out was recorded by Atlanta, but Yordan Alvarez came home on an RBI. So it's now a 6-2 Braves lead in the Bottom of the 8th. The Atlanta Braves won this one 6-2, but it was bittersweet since Charlie Morton got injured and no longer figures to be a factor for the rest of the World Series.
[GAME 2] The Houston Astros struck first on a sacrifice fly with one out. Jose Altuve came home to make it 1-0 in the Bottom of the 1st. Atlanta responded in the Top of the 2nd as Travis D'Arnaud bangs a solo jack to tie the game at 1-1. Astros re-took the lead on an RBI single. 2-1, Astros. The RBI party continued for the Astros brought in three more runs with one out. So now it's 4-1 Astros. The Braves brought in a run in the Top of the 5th to make it a 5-2 lead for Houston. An out was recorded by Atlanta, but Houston brought in a run in the Bottom of the 6th to make it 6-2. Actually, under further review, the Astros were safe. So it's 6-2, Astros with one out in the Bottom of the 6th. Very first pitch in the Bottom of the 7th, Jose Altuve banged a solo jack to deep left to extend the Astros lead to 7-2. In the postseason, the Astros are 15-4 when Altuve homers. Altuve's latest bomb even tied him for 2nd all-time with Bernie Williams (NYY) in postseason homers with 22. Manny Ramirez (BOS) has the most with 29 homers.
[GAME 3] Light rain was forecast for Friday and Saturday. When I first followed the game, Atlanta led 1-0 in the Bottom of the 4th with two outs and one on first base. The Astros have had a tough time trying to suppress the Braves' pitching so far. The Braves hit a solo shot to center to go up 2-0 in the Bottom of the 8th. That may have done it for the Astros in Game 3 being close all game long. This seemed like a night for Atlanta to get excited. Now the Astros have to find a way to quiet the rowdy Atlanta crowd over the weekend. Astros blanked 2-0 at Atlanta. Atlanta later suggested they changed up pitchers because they wanted a World Series title, not a no-hitter.
[GAME 4] The Houston Astros struck first and finally scored at Truist Park thanks to a recorded out as an RBI scores. It was a bases loaded RBI with one out. Jose Altuve got a single on a single on the game's very first pitch. The score was 1-0 Astros in the Top of the 1st. Jose Altuve banged a solo jack into the Atlanta air to left center in the Top of the 4th to make it a 2-0 Astros lead. He now has 23 postseason Home Runs- 2nd most all-time. The Astros have left a lot of players on base. They had four left on base in the Top of the 2nd alone. In the Bottom of the 6th, the Braves banged in a deep RBI to make it a 2-1 score with the Astros still leading. That lead by Houston would be a tie thanks to a homer to right by Dansby Swanson in the Bottom of the 7th. Back-to-back jacks now for Atlanta on a go-ahead solo homer by Jorge Soler. It's 3-2, Braves now in the same inning. The Braves are now trying to run Houston out of Atlanta. Even Donald Trump and Ivanka(?) Trump were in attendance doing the Braves Chop. The game ended 3-2 in favor of Atlanta. Houston will now need to win three straight games to take the World Series out of Atlanta's grasp.
[GAME 5] The Atlanta Braves started off STRONG- a two-out Grand Slam to go ahead 4-0 in the Bottom of the 1st. Duvall of ATL bombed the Grand Slam to right. After the Astros suffered the Grand Slam wallop, they respond with Alex Bregman launching a deep shot to center-right to bring in a run. Now it's 4-1 Braves lead in the Top of the 2nd after the RBI double by A-Breg. Bregman was moved lower in the batting lineup since being completely off lately. Martin Maldonado hit a sacrifice fly that ends up sending Kyle Tucker home. Now it's a 4-2 lead for Atlanta. Carlos Correa for Houston banged an RBI double with nobody out in the Top of the 3rd to make it a 4-3 lead for Atlanta. Then the next Astros batter hit a ground ball to get called out but score another run. Now Houston and Atlanta are tied. Tied no more in the Bottom of the 3rd when Freddie Freeman launched a solo bomb into the Atlanta air to make it a 5-4 Braves lead. After Alex Bregman was intentionally walked, the bases were loaded in the Top of the 5th, and a bases loaded walk tied the game at 5 with two outs. The Astros FINALLY led on a high shot to center-left. Two Astros scored for the Astros to take their first lead of the game- a 7-5 lead now for Houston. In the Top of the 7th, Martin Maldonado hammers an RBI double to make it an 8-5 Astros lead. I missed it, but the Astros drove in a run on an RBI single by Carlos Correa that brought home Jose Altuve in the Top of the 8th. Make that a 9-5 Astros lead at that point. Essentially five unanswered runs by the Astros after the bases loaded walk that tied the game. The Astros staved off elimination with a 9-5 victory in Atlanta. Houston became the first team down 3-1 in the World Series to avoid elimination on the road since the 1992 Atlanta Braves.
[GAME 6] The first team to score in Game 6 was the Atlanta Braves on a Jorge Soler three-run homer to left. Every game in this World Series that Soler hits a homer, Atlanta won. Will this lead to the undoing of the 2021 Houston Astros? Atlanta leads 3-0 in the Top of the 3rd after that three-run Braves blast. In the top of the 5th, Dansby Swanson hits a two-run shot to make it 5-0 Braves. Freddie Freeman smokes a deep center-left shot to make it 6-0 on an RBI double in the same inning. 7-0 for Atlanta in the Top of the 7th on a Freddie Freeman solo homer. I stopped watching this game after that. And it ended a 7-0 victory for Atlanta.
[GAME 7] ~not needed~
(HOU vs. ATL)
GM1 ATL at HOU: (6-2; Atlanta)
GM2 ATL at HOU: (7-2; Houston)
GM3 HOU at ATL: (2-0; Atlanta)
GM4 HOU at ATL: (3-2; Atlanta)
GM5 HOU at ATL: (9-5; Houston)
GM6 ATL at HOU: (7-0; Atlanta)
GM7 ATL at HOU:
Well... I've been here before as a Houston sports fan- can't win a championship. I respected Atlanta fully. It wasn't like the Braves were lucky to get in. Really, I'm hurt more by the Braves winning it all than when the Washington Nationals beat us in the 2019 World Series. You could probably say the Braves faced and beaten tougher opposition in Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Dodgers, compared to the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox for Houston. Even trying to win it all without a semblance of cheating still haunts the Astros. Same old 🤬 for Houston sports. Now back to my losing Texans and losing/rebuilding Rockets.
Regardless, this is all over, the 2021 season of Major League Baseball. Your team to beat next season are the Atlanta Braves. If you care to talk about your team(s) in 2021, go ahead. Otherwise, I'm done here.
