Video: Hank Aaron Honored by Braves, MLB in Moving Tribute Before World Series Game 3
Oct 30, 2021
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 29: Hank Aaron Jr. is greeted by manager Dusty Baker Jr. #12 of the Houston Astros, before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Game Three of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on October 29, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The Atlanta Braves honored the late Hank Aaron with a video tribute ahead of Game 3 of the World Series versus the Houston Astros on Friday night.
An incredible tribute to the late great Hank Aaron in Atlanta before World Series Game 3. pic.twitter.com/Hir6Sk6vsC
Dusty Baker going out and hugging the children of his late friend Hank Aaron, as his teary-eyed widow Billye looks on, is the pregame moment you wanted.
Aaron, a Hall of Famer, was a 25-time All-Star, one-time MVP and one-time champion during his illustrious career, most famously breaking Babe Ruth's home run record during his career. He died in January at the age of 86.
āHank Aaron is near the top of everyoneās list of all-time great players," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement at the time of Aaron's death. "His monumental achievements as a player were surpassed only by his dignity and integrity as a person. Hank symbolized the very best of our game, and his all-around excellence provided Americans and fans across the world with an example to which to aspire."
Jose Altuve, Astros Level World Series 1-1 With Game 2 Win vs. Braves
Oct 28, 2021
Houston Astros starting pitcher Jose Urquidy throws during the first inning in Game 2 of baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The Houston Astros have tied the World Series at one game apiece after beating the visiting Atlanta Braves 7-2on Wednesday at Minute Maid Park.
Houston's four-run second inning proved to be the difference, with Jose Siri, Martin Maldonado and Michael Brantley all smacking RBI singles to help give the Astros a 5-1 lead.
Astros starting pitcher Jose Urquidy and the Houston bullpen took care of the rest. Urquidy struck out seven batters over five innings, allowing two runs.
He also added a first-inning double and scored on an Alex Bregman sacrifice fly.
Atlanta defeated Houston 6-2 on Tuesday to begin the 2021 Fall Classic.
Notable Performances
Atlanta SP Max Fried (Loss): 5.0 IP, 6 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Atlanta C Travis d'Arnaud: 2-of-4, HR, 2 R, RBI
Atlanta DH Jorge Soler: 1-of-4, 2B
Houston SP Jose Urquidy (Win): 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 7 K
Houston 2B Jose Altuve: 2-of-5, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 R
Houston LF Michael Brantley: 2-of-4, RBI
Small Ball Sends Astros to Game 2 Win
The long ball helped the Astros all season to the tune of 221 home runs en route to their American League West crown. Eight players hit 12 or more home runs, and a quartet hit 26 or more out of the park.
Yordan Alvarez's postseason power surge has been the difference thus far in October, but on Wednesday, the Astros won in a different fashion and with a new cast of characters.
The bottom of the order got things going to make the difference.
With the score tied at one, Kyle Tucker and Yuli Gurriel hit singles to put runners on the corners with one out.
That's when Siri came to the dish and ran out an infield single to give Houston the 2-1 edge.
Maldonado, who hit .172 during the regular season, then plated Gurriel with an RBI single for a 3-1 lead. An Eddie Rosario overthrow then scored Siri, who rushed home for the fourth Astro run of the game.
Brantley then finished the outburst with his own RBI single to score Maldonado.
Siri, Maldonado and Brantley aren't known as power hitters. Maldonado had the most homers among them with 12 this year, although Siri's four came in 21 contests.
Still, Houston showed it doesn't need the top half of the order to bash home runs to win ballgames. Bregman, Alvarez and Carlos Correa, who hit third through fifth in the order, notably went just 1-for-9.
On Wednesday, the Astros' bottom half of the order got it done with some timely hitting and baserunning, and Altuve and the pitching staff did the rest.
Atlanta Knocks on Door, But Urquidy, Astros Don't Let Them In
Atlanta had its chances to break this game open a la Game 1, but missed opportunities ultimately spelled doom for the National League champs.
They started early, with Jorge Soler finding himself at bat with runners on second and first with two out in the first. However, Urquidy got him swinging with a 94 mph fastball to end the threat.
Atlanta looked like it might have Urquidy and the Astros on the ropes in the fifth, with d'Arnaud landing on second following a single and wild pitch.
Up came NL Championship Series MVP Rosario, one of the hottest hitters in baseball. Urquidy got him to ground out, but a Freddie Freeman single kept hopes alive to plate d'Arnaud and cut the score to 5-2.
Ozzie Albies then strolled to the dish and hit a screaming liner down the first-base line, but Gurriel was there to snag the ball.
The Astros bullpen then answered the phone for the final 12 outs. A one-out Soler double offered some intrigue in the sixth, but a pair of harmless outs in a Joc Pederson flyout and an Adam Duvall popout ended the frame.
And that was pretty much it for Atlanta, who managed just two walks and no hits in the final three innings and didn't advance any runners past first in that span.
The combination of Cristian Javier, Phil Maton, Ryan Pressly and Kendall Graveman tossed four shutout innings. That was more than good enough to send the series back to Atlanta tied at one.
What's Next?
Atlanta will host Houston for Game 3 from Truist Park on Friday at 8:09 p.m. ET.
National Congress of American Indians Responds to Rob Manfred's Braves Comments
Oct 28, 2021
HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 26: Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred looks on prior to Game One of the World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on October 26, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
Ahead of the World Series Tuesday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters he won't force the Atlanta Braves to stop using their nickname or the "tomahawk chop."
The National Congress of American Indians responded in a statement Wednesday, specifically disagreeing with the commissioner's view that the debate over whether or not the team's nickname and chant are offensive is a "local issue."
Evan Drellich of The Athletic relayed the comments:
National Congress of American Indians responds to Rob Manfredās assertions about the Braves and the tomahawk chop: "Nothing could be further from the truth.ā pic.twitter.com/CjzSzt56sV
āMajor League Baseball is a global brand, it markets its World Series nationally and internationally, and the games played in Atlanta this weekend will be viewed by tens of millions of fans across the country and around the world," NCAI President Fawn Sharp said in part, per The Athletic.
"Meanwhile, the name āBraves,ā the tomahawk adorning the teamās uniform, and the ātomahawk chopā that the team exhorts its fans to perform at home games are meant to depict and caricature not just one tribal community but all Native people, and that is certainly how baseball fans and Native people everywhere interpret them."
"I think itās important to understand that we have 30 markets in the country," Manfred said. "Not all are the same. The Braves have done a phenomenal job with the Native American community. The Native American community in that region is fully supportive of the Bravesā program, including the chop.
"For me, thatās kind of the end of the story."
Manfred also said that MLB is marketed on a local basis and that the league tailors to fans in particular markets.
"We donāt market our game on a nationwide basis. Ours is an everyday game," Manfred continued. "Youāve gotta sell tickets every single day to the fans in that market. And there are all sorts of differences between the regions in terms of how the teams are marketed."
Atlanta has been centerstage at the intersection of baseball and current events earlier this year as well.
Major League Baseball was scheduled to have the 2021 All-Star Game there but pulled the contest in response to the state's new election rules. As Fredreka Schouten of CNN noted, numerous critics have said those rules make it harder for Black voters to participate in elections.
The debate over professional sports teams' use of Indigenous imagery has been a recent hot topic in MLB, as Cleveland is changing its nickname to the Guardians beginning with the 2022 season. Its Chief Wahoo logo was officially retired in 2018.
Manfred's remarks came prior to Atlanta's first World Series appearance since 1999. Atlanta is facing the Houston Astros and took Game 1 of the Fall Classic 6-2, with Game 2 scheduled for Wednesday.
The series will head to Truist Park in Cumberland, Georgia on Friday for Games 3 and 4 at minimum.
Charlie Morton Apologized to Braves Teammates After Breaking Leg vs. Astros
Oct 27, 2021
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton throws during the first inning of Game 1 in baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Charlie Morton's firstāand onlyāappearance in the 2021 World Series lasted 2.1 innings during Game 1 on Tuesday night because of a fractured fibula he suffered after being hit in the leg by a comebacker.
Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, Morton had a unique response to his Braves teammates when they came to check on him in the locker room during Atlanta's 6-2 win over the Houston Astros.
"I'm sorry," Morton said, according to Passan.
Yuli Gurriel hit a one-hopper 102 mph off the bat that hit Morton squarely on his lower right leg. The right-hander remained in the game to strike out Chas McCormick and get Martin Maldonado out on a liner to first base to end the inning.
Last night, Charlie Morton suffered a leg fracture in the second inning.
Per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez, Braves manager Brian Snitker noted Morton underwent an X-ray between the second and third innings that didn't reveal any fracture. The right-hander struck out Jose Altuve for the first out of the third inning, but that's also when he favored his leg.
After undergoing a second X-ray, the Braves announced that Morton had a fractured right fibula and would miss the rest of the World Series. He is expected to be ready for the start of spring training next season.
A.J. Minter, who didn't throw more than two innings or 32 pitches in a game all season, relieved Morton. The left-hander didn't give up a run in 2.2 innings on 43 pitches.
Even though Morton was apparently apologetic for getting hurt, his performance after being hit by a comebacker is a microcosm of how the Braves have made it to this point. They had to adapt on the fly after losing Ronald Acuna Jr. to a torn ACL on July 10.
The Braves are pushing all of the right buttons and find themselves three wins away from their first World Series title since 1995.
Braves' Statement Win vs. Astros Comes at Steep Price with Charlie Morton Injury
Oct 27, 2021
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton is helped off the field during the third inning of Game 1 in baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Game 1 of the World Series was mostly an exercise in Atlanta getting everything it could have wanted. Above all, a win. And just below that, continued excellence for an offense that carried the team through the first two rounds of the 2021 playoffs.
The operative word there, however, is "mostly."
This is little comfort to the Houston Astros, who were generally lifeless in a 6-2 loss at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday. Though Atlanta's offense front-loaded what life it showed by scoring five of its six runs in the first three innings, manager Brian Snitker's bullpen made sure it held up by allowing just two runs over 6.2 innings to finish out the game.
Trouble is, that heavy workload was necessitated by what happened to ace starter Charlie Morton in the second inning:
This was the Gurriel comebacker that got Morton's shin in the second inning. My guess is he had to exit because the area swelled over the past inning. pic.twitter.com/NuV4Zm50Yh
That was a 102.4 mph ground ball off Yuli Gurriel's bat clanking off Morton's right shin. Though he stayed in the game and was even able to get three more outs, he had to come out in the third and was revealed to have a fractured fibula.
āI hate it for him. Heās such a great person," Snitker said, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.
The 37-year-old's season is over, which means that Atlanta only has so much of an advantage even after gaining its first win in the World Series in 25 years.
Atlanta Players of the Game
DH Jorge Soler: 2-for-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. He just came off the COVID-19 injured list a few days ago, yet he erased any doubts about his swing by launching the third pitch of the game into the Crawford Boxes for a leadoff home run.
CF Adam Duvall: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. He was quiet in the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but all was forgiven when he cranked a two-run shot in the third inning.
LF Eddie Rosario: 2-for-5, 1 R. The NLCS MVP just keeps hitting. He also made a pivotal defensive play, though we'll have more on that later.
LHP A.J. Minter: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 R, 3 K. He was first out of the gate in relief of Morton and did everything he could to keep momentum from shifting in favor of the Astros.
Astros Players of the Game
LF Michael Brantley: 3-for-5. On a night in which the Astros got only two extra-base hits and scored both of their runs on fielder's choice ground balls, he'll have to do for an offensive standout.
RHP Jake Odorizzi: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 5 K. He basically had to justify Astros manager Dusty Baker not using go-to bulk ace Cristian Javier in relief of Framber Valdez after he could get only six outs. Suffice it to say, he did.
Was This a Pyrrhic Victory for Atlanta?
Or, for anyone who's not caught up on Roman-era military terminology: Did Atlanta's win in Game 1 come at too great a cost to be worth it?
Perhaps not, if for no other reason than the message sent by its offense.
Because the Astros led all of Major League Baseball in runs scored during the regular season and also entered Game 1 with a 27-run advantage on Atlanta for the postseason, the offensive advantage in this series seemed to reside decidedly with Houston. But before anyone could properly retort with words, Soler did it with his loud swing off Valdez:
Atlanta added another run in the first inning on an RBI double by Austin Riley and eventually stretched its lead to 5-0 on Duvall's two-run shot in the third.
As noted by ESPN Stats and Info, the homers by Soler and Duvall made it nine for Atlanta in these playoffs by players who played for another team during the regular season. That's a record.
More to the point, those were but two hits in a rare come-one, come-all hit party for Atlanta:
For the 3rd time in franchise history, all 9 starters in the @Braves' #WorldSeries starting lineup have recorded a hit.
Cheap, these hits were not. Atlanta's hitters averaged 99.4 mph in exit velocity just off Valdez. And, to be clear, that's not just on the team's hits. It's for all of its 12 batted balls off the supposedly electric left-hander.
āIt was my first World Series game so Iām not gonna tell you I didnāt feel any kind of pressure," Valdez said afterward, according to Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle.
To be fair to Valdez, Atlanta's offense has humbled many pitchers of late. Its hitters ranked second in the National League in average exit velocity after president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos remade the team's offense at the July 30 trade deadline in response to Ronald Acuna Jr.'s season-ending knee injury.
More recently, Atlanta actually had slightly better exit velo in the NLCS against the Dodgers than the Astros did in the American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox.
Not to be overlooked is that Game 1 was also a defensive showcase for Atlanta. True to its usual form, the club hit all the right buttons with its infield shifts. Because there's nothing he can't do, Rosario added a stellar throw to his postseason highlight reel in the eighth inning:
All this was no help to an Astros offense that also gave off a hint of rust following a three-day rest period. Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker and company seemed to do nothing but make good takes and let rip good swings in the first two rounds of the postseason. But apart from Brantley, there were few of either to be found on Houston's side in Game 1.
The loss of Morton, though, has dire short- and long-term implications for Atlanta in this series.
For the former, Snitker had to call on four of his best relieversāMinter, Luke Jackson, Tyler Matzek and Will Smithāto throw 101 pitches in relief of Morton. The obvious good news is that they got the job done. The equally obvious less-good news is that their availability for Game 2 on Wednesday is at least compromised and maybe nonexistent.
Either way, it'll be up to Max Fried to come through with a strong start in Game 2. Or, the exact opposite of what he gave Snitker in Game 5 of the NLCS, in which the Dodgers tagged him for five runs on eight hits and two walks in 4.2 innings.
Assuming the series gets that far, Morton's injury leaves Atlanta without its presumptive starter for Game 5. If Jesse Chavez and Drew Smyly work in tandem again like they did in NLCS Game 4, the newly activated Kyle Wright might get the ball in Game 5. His career ERA through 21 appearances in the majors is 6.56, so that would qualify as "suboptimal."
Of course, Houston's starting pitching didn't look great coming into this series and it doesn't look better in context of the egg that Valdez just laid. But unlike Morton, at least he's healthy. And the last time he laid an egg in these playoffs, he responded by hurling eight one-run innings his next time out.
So while the Astros surely have wounds to tend to after Game 1, at least theirs are strictly figurative. The literal one on Atlanta's side is potentially much more damaging.
What's Next for Atlanta and Houston?
The second game of the World Series is scheduled for 8:09 p.m. ET at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday. It'll be Fried on the mound for the visitors and right-hander Jose Urquidy on the mound for the home team.
After an off day for travel on Thursday, Game 3 will take place at Truist Park in Atlanta on Friday.
Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall Lead Braves to World Series Game 1 Win vs. Astros
Oct 27, 2021
Atlanta Braves' Jorge Soler runs a home run during the first inning of Game 1 in baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Round 1 of the Fall Classic belongs to the Atlanta Braves.
Atlanta defeated the Houston Astros 6-2 in Tuesday's Game 1 of the World Series at Minute Maid Park. Jorge Soler and Adam Duvall hit home runs for the victors, who are now just three wins away from their first championship since 1995.
A solid showing from the bullpen wasn't enough for the Astros, who now must win Game 2 just to split the first two contests at home and avoid falling into a daunting hole before heading to Atlanta.
It's not often that negative news is one of the biggest headlines for a team that wins Game 1 of the World Series, but that was the case for the Braves.
Charlie Morton appeared well on his way to an impressive showing while allowing a single hit and striking out three in 2.1 scoreless innings but saw his day cut short by an injury. Atlanta announced he suffered a right fibula fracture that will keep him sidelined until spring training of the 2022 campaign.
Charlie Morton after comebacker that led to fractured fibula:
Morton helped anchor a Braves rotation that was missing Mike Soroka all season and figured to be in line to start two or perhaps three games in the series against the Astros.
Instead, the bullpen was immediately thrown into the fire and asked to protect a 5-0 lead.
A.J. Minter was first and largely brilliant while throwing a career-high 43 pitches. He gave up one run when Chas McCormick reached and Kyle Tucker scored on an error by Dansby Swanson but escaped runners on the corners and one out after that by striking out Martin Maldonado and retiring Jose Altuve.
Luke Jackson preserved a scoreless sixth by striking out McCormick with a runner in scoring position and retired two in the seventh before giving way to Tyler Matzek, who ended the frame by striking out Alex Bregman.
Matzek was anything but effective in the eighth but still managed to give up just one run after a leadoff triple from Yordan Alvarez thanks in part to Eddie Rosario throwing out Yuli Gurriel trying to stretch a single into a double. Will Smith closed the door from there on a clutch and extended showing from Atlanta's bullpen.
Astros Can't Overcome Valdez's Poor Start
One batter.
That's all it took for Atlanta's lineup to give a rude welcome to Astros starter Framber Valdez. Soler launched a solo homer and became the first player in Major League Baseball history to lead off the top of the first inning in Game 1 of the World Series with a long ball.
It was just the start of the Braves' onslaught with Valdez on the mound. Austin Riley drove in Ozzie Albies with a double in the first inning, Soler added another RBI with a groundout in the second inning and Duvall extended the lead to 5-0 with a two-run homer in the third inning.
JORGE SOLER STARTS THE WORLD SERIES WITH A BANG š„
Duvall was the final batter Valdez faced as he failed to record an out in the third inning while giving up five runs and eight hits overall. The performance was a far cry from his showing in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series when he gave up one run in eight dominant innings.
Houston's bullpen deserves plenty of credit for keeping the team within relative striking distance.
Yimi Garcia, Jake Odorizzi, Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek and Brooks Raley combined to allow just one run in seven innings in a performance that could set the tone for the rest of the series when the bullpen is called upon in high-leverage situations.
Still, it wasn't enough to overcome Valdez's poor start.
What's Next?
The series remains in Houston for Wednesday's Game 2.
Braves SP Charlie Morton's Leg Injury Diagnosed as Season-Ending Fracture
Oct 27, 2021
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton throws during the first inning of Game 1 in baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Charlie Morton will miss the rest of the World Series after suffering a right fibula fracture in Tuesday's Game 1, the team announced.
The pitcher landed awkwardly after striking out Houston Astros star Jose Altuve and was quickly removed from the game:
Charlie Morton is leaving the game in the 3rd inning after he came up in pain after a pitch. pic.twitter.com/ZYiJ13fSZ8
Morton lasted just 2.1 innings before the injury, allowing just one hit and zero runs while his team built a 5-0 lead. Left-hander A.J. Minter came on in relief for the Braves in the third inning.
The Braves have relied on Morton throughout the postseason. The veteran started Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers and then again on short rest in the clinching Game 4. He also started Game 3 of the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers before getting the ball for Tuesday's World Series opener.
During the regular season, the 37-year-old finished 14-6 with a 3.34 ERA, adding 216 strikeouts in 185.2 innings.
The two-time All-Star helped the Astros win the 2017 World Series and is looking to beat his former team in 2021.
The Braves' title hopes could suffer without their ace, however, while his early exit in Game 1 also potentially creates problems for the bullpen going forward.
Video: Braves' Jorge Soler Makes History with HR in 1st At-Bat of 2021 World Series
Oct 27, 2021
Atlanta Braves' Jorge Soler celebrates his home run during the first inning of Game 1 in baseball's World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
It took the Atlanta Braves exactly one batter to make history in the 2021 World Series.
Jorge Soler launched a solo home run off Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez in the top of the first inning in Tuesday's Game 1. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the slugger became the first player in league history to lead off a World Series with a long ball.
MLB Stats noted Chris Taylor (2017), Alcides Escobar (2015), Dustin Pedroia (2007) and Don Buford (1969) all hit home runs in their team's first at-bat of a Fall Classic, but each of them came to the plate in the bottom of the first inning.
The historic home run underscores how much of a presence Soler can be in Atlanta's lineup.
He missed much of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers because he was on the COVID-19 list but gives Atlanta a power bat that isn't far removed from leading the league with 48 home runs in 2019.
Rob Manfred Says MLB Won't Force Braves to Change Nickname
Oct 26, 2021
HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 26: Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred looks on prior to Game One of the World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on October 26, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will not force the Atlanta Braves to change their name or stop the "tomahawk chop" amid concerns about insensitivity to Indigenous people.
"Itās important to understand that we have 30 markets around the country. They arenāt all the same," Manfred said Tuesday. "The Braves have done a phenomenal job with the Native American community."
"The Native American community in that region is wholly supportive of the Braves program, including the Chop," Manfred added. "For me, thatās kind of the end of the story. In that market, weāre taking into account the Native American community."
The Braves are set to compete in the World Series against the Houston Astros beginning Tuesday night, bringing the controversial mascot and fan actions into the national spotlight.
The franchise has held the team name since being known as the Boston Braves in 1912. The mascot remained through moves to Milwaukee and eventually Atlanta in 1966.
Despite the history, there have been calls for change following similar adjustments for the Washington Football Team and Cleveland baseball team, which will be known as the Guardians.
As Manfred noted, the Braves do have a relationship with a local tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The team previously announced a "cultural working relationship" with the tribe while also expanding its relationship with the Georgia Council on American Indian Concerns.
Richard Sneed, the Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, said in 2020 that he personally wasn't offended by the name or tomahawk chop, per Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"The organization certainly wants to make sure everything theyāre doing is honoring, and is presented in a way that honors Native Americans," Sneed said.
106-Win, $267M Dodgers Fall Short to Better Braves Team to End Championship Defense
Oct 24, 2021
Atlanta, GA - October 23: Atlanta Braves' Eddie Rosario, from left, celebrates while approaching home off a three-run home run as Joc Pederson and Ozzie Albies wait during the fourth inning in game six in the 2021 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Truist Park on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021 in Atlanta, GA. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Atlanta lost its best player to a nasty knee injury in July, and probably the most exciting thing about its activity at the trade deadline is that they dealt away a former World Series MVP. In theory, not the best recipe for success.
Yet, there's Atlanta on its way to its first World Series since 1999 after winning the National League Championship Series over a team that ranked first in payroll and second in wins during the 2021 regular season. And it has an awful lot to do with the guy who came back in the aforementioned trade.
On July 30, Eddie Rosario was a struggling outfield on the injured list with a strained abdominal muscle. As of Oct. 23, he's the NLCS MVP after collecting 14 hits in the series, including a three-run home run that proved to be the dagger in Atlanta's 4-2 win in Game 6 on Saturday.
Inasmuch as any pennant-winning team can possibly be diminished, really the only way to diminish Atlanta's victory is to point out that they beat a Dodgers club that was far from at full strength. Because of this, the Dodgers and all those who bleed their distinct color of blue will inevitably look back at 2021 and wonder what might have been.
Regardless, let there be no question that the better team won the NLCS. And at least until the Fall Classic begins on Tuesday, that's the only thing that matters right now.
Atlanta Players of the Game
LF Eddie Rosario: 2-for-4, 1 BB, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. The veteran finished with 14 hits in the NLCS, tying a postseason record for a single series. That plus three homers and a walk-off hit in Game 2 will win you a series MVP.
RHP Ian Anderson: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 R, 4 K. The rookie wasn't great, but he was about as good as manager Brian Snitker needed him to be before turning things over to his well-rested bullpen.
LHP Tyler Matzek: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 4 K. Now, this guy. He was straight-up great, especially in the seventh inning, which we'll discuss in more detail shortly.
Dodgers Players of the Game
CF Cody Bellinger and LF AJ Pollock: On an otherwise quiet night for the Dodgers offense, they brought home the club's only runs on an RBI single and RBI double, respectively.
RHP Kenley Jansen: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 2 K. In what could be his final appearance with the Dodgers, he came through with a scoreless ninth inning that kept his team in the game.
This Series Was Pretty Much All Atlanta
Lest Rosario gets all the glory, his series-clinching home run was but one of two significant turning points in Game 6.
The other one was in the seventh inning when Atlanta found its lead in peril after Pollock's run-scoring double also put runners at second and third with nobody out. After giving Luke Jackson the hook, Snitker placed the monumental task of getting out of the inning on Matzek's shoulders.
Spoiler alert: The burly left-hander didn't allow another Dodger to put a ball in play that inning.
According to FanGraphs, Matzek's pitching alone lifted Atlanta's win expectancy from just 55 percent to 88 percent. And that was pretty much that, as the Dodgers failed to produce another threat in the eighth or the ninth.
More broadly, Matzek's electric performance didn't just save Atlanta from the kind of heartbreak that local sports fans have become all too familiar with in recent years. It also effectively secured the NLCS as one of the more dominant efforts in the Atlanta organization's history.
Though the books will show that Atlanta had two bad games in the NLCS, it was really more like one bad game and one bad inning. Yes, Game 5 at Dodger Stadium was an 11-2 blowout. But the only other loss that Atlanta incurred in Game 3 was borne from a four-run eighth. Snitker's guys barely had a chance to recover before the game was over.
This is not what was expected from this series, and for understandable reasons. Atlanta had won 18 fewer games than the Dodgers during the regular season and, while its win over the 95-win Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS was impressive, the Dodgers did one better by dispatching a 107-win team in the San Francisco Giants.
It's not, however, as if Atlanta backed into the playoffs. It burst into the postseason with 12 wins in its last 14 games and 36 out of 54 overall, dating back to Aug. 3. It thus hasn't so much gotten hot as, you know, stayed hot.
Perhaps the greatest compliment to pay Atlanta right now is that one doesn't actually need to wonder how much better it would be right now if Ronald Acuna Jr. hadn't torn his ACL just before the All-Star break.
This is indeed an especially dangerous offense, even without his MVP-caliber bat. To wit, Atlanta co-led the National League with the Dodgers in home runs after Aug. 3. And while it didn't win the home run battle in the NLCS, Atlanta's offense thoroughly outclassed its Los Angeles counterpart in hitting with runners in scoring position.
Though it was Rosario and reigning NL MVP Freddie Freeman who did most of the hitting in the NLCS, it's likely just a matter of time before incumbent sluggers Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Dansby Swanson and deadline newcomers Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall and Jorge Soler are heard from again in the World Series.
On the mound, Max Fried's stinker in Game 5 of the NLCS is the only real postseason dud between him and fellow aces Anderson and Charlie Morton. And apart from Jackson's meltdown in Game 3, Matzek and the rest of Atlanta's bullpen have been absolute nails of late.
In the Houston Astros, Atlanta is about to face a team that's fresh off a 95-win season and is playing in its third World Series in the last five years. Which is to say, Atlanta is going to be an underdog again.
But as Snitker's club knows all too well right now, even underdogs can slay dragons. So, why not add one more to the heap?
The Shorthanded Dodgers Just Couldn't Get It Done
For the Dodgers, this one hurts. Not only figuratively but quite literally in some cases.
To be sure, it's a tad silly to make excuses for a team that spent $267 million on the payroll only to become the 21st consecutive reigning champion to fail to make it two World Series wins in a row. But let's be real. After losing Clayton Kershaw and Max Muncy to injuries late in the season and then Justin Turner and Joe Kelly to their own injuries during the postseason, the Dodgers basically had no margin for error going into Game 6.
However, their loss and earlier than anticipated exit from the playoffs was also largely self-inflicted.
In spite of occasional flashes of brilliance, Mookie Betts' postseason was very much like his regular season in that he just wasn't the difference-maker that he is when he's at his best. Trea Turner was cold throughout, as was Corey Seager, apart from a couple of home runs.
Those guys' struggles shifted too much slack into the hands of the Dodgers' supporting cast. It's to Chris Taylor's, AJ Pollock's and especially Cody Bellinger's credit that they met the challenge as well as they did, but it ultimately wasn't enough.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, meanwhile, deserves all the hard questions he's going to get about how he deployed his pitchers.
Aces Max Scherzer and Julio Urias just weren't the same after working in relief in Game 5 of the NLDS and Game 2 of the NLCS, respectively. And after the former had to be scratched from starting Game 6 with a dead arm, Roberts took an arguably unnecessary risk by starting a wavering Walker Buehler on three days' rest for the second time in less than two weeks.
As for Buehler himself, the world would like to know what the heck he was thinking with the baffling sequence of pitches that preceded Rosario's home run:
In context of all this, there's no saying that the Dodgers lost a series they should have won. They were shorthanded, sure, but they simply misplayed the hand they were dealt.
Particularly in light of their seemingly infinite supply of resources, the usual line here is that the Dodgers will be back. But that's actually taking a lot for granted. As talented as they are and will remain in 2022, between now and then they'll need to either re-sign or replace Seager, Scherzer, Kershaw, Jansen and Taylor in free agency.
So if the Dodgers do want to be back, they'd better get busy.
What's Next for Atlanta
It's on to Houston for Atlanta, where it will face the Astros in Game 1 of the World Series at Minute Maid Park. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:09 p.m. ET.
No matter what happens in the first two games, the World Series will shift back to Truist Park in Atlanta for Game 3 on Friday.
