2021 Major League Baseball World Series: Houston Astros vs Atlanta Braves
The 2021 Major League Baseball postseason was one to remember, with close games and big moments seemingly every night. In the end the young talent and mid-season acquisitions of the Atlanta Braves proved to be the right combination for victory.
Braves
The road to the Major League Baseball World Series was a bumpy one for the Braves, to say the least. With high expectations coming into the season, the Braves struggled to remain above 500 for the first half of the year. On top of that, ace RHP Mike Soroka was lost for the remainder of the season in late June due to a total re-tear of his Achilles tendon, and superstar Ronald Acuña, Jr was lost in early July to a total ACL tear. Facing two major injuries and a poor first-half performance, it would have been easy for the Braves front office to throw in the towel and get ready for next season. However, the Braves made some high-quality trade deadline acquisitions (Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall) that ignited the team and led them to the best record in baseball for August and September, including winning 12 of their final 14 games to end the season as NL Eastern Division champs.
Despite their red hot finish to the regular season, the Braves entered the postseason as underdogs in the National League, with the Giants, Dodgers, Cardinals, and Brewers all posting better regular season W/L records. The Braves proved they came to play by swiftly defeating the Brewers in the National League Division Series, three games to one. They took on the defending World Series champion LA Dodgers in the National League Championship Series and defeated them four games to two, propelling them to their first World Series appearance since 1999.
Astros
The Houston Astros were greeted with boos in pretty much every stadium they played in outside of Minute Maid Park this season. That’s because the Astros’ cheating scandal broke in late 2019, after the season had ended, and there were no fans in the stands to boo them during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. So the 2021 season was the first time that fans got to voice their displeasure with the Houston players in person.
Despite their status as “Most Hated”, the Astros were never really challenged for the American League West pennant. The upstart Seattle Mariners made the weak AL West somewhat competitive, but despite winning 90 games came up short in the AL wildcard race because the insanely talented AL East took both wildcard spots.
For Houston, high expectations have become the norm, with the team reaching the American League Championship Series for the fifth straight season. The infield combination of Gurriel, Altuve, Correa, and Bregman has been together for the entire run and has played more postseason games together (68) than any other foursome in baseball history.
The Astos met the talent-ladened Chicago White Sox in the American League Division Series and dispatched them easily, three games to one. In the American League Championship Series, the Astros squared off against the Boston Red Sox, who had just knocked off the 100-win, defending AL champion Tampa Bay Rays. After Houston eeked out a one-run victory in Game 1, the Red Sox put up 9 and 12 runs respectively and took a 2-1 series lead. Houston responded by outscoring the Red Sox 23-3 over the next three games to clinch their third Major League Baseball World Series appearance in the last five years.
Major League Baseball World Series Game 1: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
Jorge Soler got the 2021 Major League Baseball World Series started with a bang, blasting the third pitch he saw deep into the left field Crawford boxes for a leadoff home run. The story of the game, however, was Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton, who was hit with a comebacker in the second inning. Although Morton appeared unaffected by the line drive, the ball actually fractured his right fibula. He remained in the game, pitching to three more batters, getting all three out including two strikeouts.
The early lead combined with excellent pitching out of the bullpen (a theme throughout the playoffs for Atlanta) propelled them to a 6-2 victory. The victory was subdued by the news that Atlanta would be without their veteran starter for the remainder of the series.
Major League Baseball World Series Game 2: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
Jose Altuve, who went 0 for 5 for the Astros in Game 1, made up for it in Game 2 with a 2 for 5 performance. He got the Astros on the board early, lacing a double to lead off the game and scoring on an Alex Bregman sacrifice fly two batters later. Altuve also scored Houston’s final run of the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the 7th inning, putting the Astros up 7-2.
Jose Urquidy pitched adequately, allowing two runs on six hits over five innings, but the Astros bullpen sealed the deal. Four relievers combined to pitch four innings while allowing only one hit and no runs to wrap up the Astros win in Game 2 and send the Series to Atlanta tied 1-1.
Major League Baseball World Series Game 3: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
World Series Game 3 was the Ian Anderson show. The 23-year-old threw five no-hit innings in his first career World Series start. Braves manager Brian Snitker was second-guessed for his decision to lift Anderson before the start of the sixth inning even though he had a no-hitter going. His reasoning was that his young pitcher was already at 73 pitches and the Atlanta bullpen has been pitching lights out all postseason. The bullpen did not disappoint, with four relievers combining for four shutout innings while giving up only two hits. The stellar Atlanta pitching carried them to a 2-0 win and a 2-1 series lead.
Major League Baseball World Series Game 4: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
Game 4 was a thriller. Because of the injury to Charlie Morton in Game 1, the Braves had to lean heavily on their bullpen in Game 4. Despite another strong showing from the Braves ‘pen, Houston was up 2-1 going into the bottom of the 7th inning. With one out in the inning, Dansby Swanson tied the game with an opposite field home run to just below the Chop House in the right field bleachers. The next batter was Jorge Soler pinch-hitting in the pitcher’s spot. Four pitches into the at-bat, Soler got a hanging slider from Astros pitcher Christian Javier and ripped a laser to left field. The ball cleared the fence over Yordan Alvarez’s glove, giving the Braves a 3-2 lead late in the game. Brave near-automatic closer Will Smith closed the game and the Braves took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, looking to finish things at home the next night.
Major League Baseball World Series Game 5: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
With a chance to wrap up the World Series at home, Atlanta looked poised to do exactly that after jumping to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning of Game 5. But Houston was not ready to give up yet, and their bats came alive. The Astros would tie the game in the third inning and take the lead in the fifth. Atlanta took back the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a Freddie Freeman solo home run. The Astros proved to be too much this time, however, and played spoiler to Atlanta’s plans of celebrating on their home field. Houston won Game 5 by the score of 9-5, and forced the Series back to Houston.
Major League Baseball World Series Game 6, Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
Back in Texas, Houston seemed ready to even the series and force a decisive Game 7, but it wasn’t to be. Game 6 was all Atlanta, getting home runs again from Soler, Swanson, and Freeman. The game was never close, and Atlanta rode LHP Max Fried’s six scoreless innings to a World Championship, winning the game 7-0 and the Series 4-2.
Wrap-Up
The Atlanta Braves clinched their first title since the 1995 team won it all led by the pitching trio of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz.
There were so many great storylines in this Series for Atlanta. Fan favorite and overall great guy Freddie Freeman finally won a World Series ring. Trade deadline acquisitions shined as World Series MVP Jorge Soler and Joc Pederson contribute big time in big moments.
With a young core and arguably their best player returning from injury next year, it’s a safe bet that the Braves won’t take another 26 years to win their next Major League Baseball World Series.
