Houston, United States | With home runs by Cuban Jorge Soler and Adam Duvall, the Atlanta Braves gave the first blow in the 2021 World Series of baseball by beating the Houston Astros 6×2 on Tuesday in the first game.
The best-of-seven series will continue this Wednesday with the second game also in Houston, home of the Astros, with a pitching duel between Max Fried (Bravos) and Mexican José Urquidy (Astros).
The Braves, who are in their first World Series since 1999 and haven’t won the Fall Classic since 1995, got off to a spectacular start scoring five runs in the first three innings and never looked back.
– Braves, all warriors –
The Braves start aggressively and the leadoff hitter, Cuban Soler, homered down to left field and went up 1×0.
It was the first home run in the first visit to the plate of a World Series.
Four times before, a hitter had blown the fence on his team’s first home plate visit, but they did so by closing the inning.
The others who have homered as the first hitter on their team in a World Series, but at the close of the first inning, are Chris Taylor (2017, Dodgers vs. Astros), Alcides Escobar (2015, Royals vs. Mets) ), Dustin Pedroia (2007, Red Sox vs. Rockies) and Don Buford (1969, Orioles vs. Mets).
Immediately afterwards, Freddie Freeman fell from second to first in a defensive jewel of Venezuelan José Altuve, while Ozzie Albies from Curaçao won the first with a hit inside the box and later stole second, from where he scored by Austin Riley’s RBI double.
Eddie Rosario, the MVP of the National League championship series, struck out for the second out of the inning, and slugger Adam Duvall, the leading homer with 38 in the ‘Old Circuit’ in the regular season, gave up the third. out with a long hit to right field.
At the end of that inning, veteran Charlie Morton got into trouble because after striking out Altuve he allowed a hit to Michael Brantley, gave a passport to Cuban Yordan Alvarez and unbolted Puerto Rican Carlos Correa to fill the bases with two outs, but put his arm up to the bottom and dominated on a grounder to Kyle Tucker.
The Braves opened the second with consecutive singles by Trevor d’Arnaud and Joc Pederson and after Dansby Swanson’s out, Cuban Soler batted in the infield for a selection play out but the runner on third base scored the third run.
With the bases loaded and two outs, starter Framber Valdez was able to quell the danger by striking out Riley.
In the third, the Braves hit the wood again with two more runs per single by Puerto Rican Rosario and a homerun by Duvall, which caused the expulsion of Valdez from the box, who was replaced by the Dominican Yimi García, who endured the bleeding with two strikeouts .
Valdez (0-1), a native of Sabana Grande, became the 12th Dominican to start a Fall Classic game in the Major Leagues.
He also became the first Dominican to start a World Series game since Edinson Volquez did it in Game 5 of the 2015 World Series when his Kansas City Royals won.
The Braves starter had to leave the game when he injured his leg after a line shot by Cuban Yuli Gurriel. Morton suffered a fractured fibula in his right leg and the Series was over for him.
Morton was replaced by left-handed reliever AJ Minter. Despite allowing Brantley a double, Minter retired Alex Bregman on the ground and struck out the dangerous Yordan Alvarez, the Cuban MVP of the American League championship.
The Astros reacted in the fourth and discounted a double by Tucker and a single by Cuban Gurriel.
Luke Jackson and Tyler Matzek were responsible for hanging the zero in the seventh inning by striking out Altuve and Bregman with an intercalated hit by Brantley.
In the eighth, the Braves put two men on bases after Swanson walked and the Cuban Soler, with a hit inside the box, set the scene ready for Freeman to drive in the sixth run with a sacrifice fly.
In the eighth, the Astros opened aggressively when Cuban Alvarez hit a triple off reliever Tyler Matzek, who dominated Correa on a groundout across the infield but the third runner scored the Astros’ second.
Closer Will Smith walked pinch-hitter Aledmys Diaz in the ninth, but Mexican Jason Castro’s grounder served to force runner to second, Altuve also grounded to one out at second and Brantley dropped from second to first.
