  Game 2 gave us something we had not seen in 1,097 days: A giddy home crowd celebrating their team winning a World Series game.
It had been since Oct. 26, 2018 -- the legendary 18-inning game at Dodger Stadium that ended with a Max Muncy walk-off homer against the Red Sox's Nathan Eovaldi -- that a team won in its own park at the World Series. And while fans at Minute Maid Park might not have gone quite as nuts as they did at Chavez Ravine that night, there was clear joy and relief on Wednesday evening. A loss in Game 2 would have put the Astros behind 2-0 before heading to Georgia, where the Braves haven't lost all postseason. That is not a position the Astros could afford to be in. And now, thanks to a thoroughly impressive and comprehensive overall performance, they're not.
Even though the Astros have lost home-field advantage this Series, there's reason to feel confident moving forward. The Braves were already planning to trot out a bullpen game in Game 4; with the loss of Charlie Morton to a broken leg, they may have to do it again in Game 5. Max Fried gave the Braves some much-needed length after the Astros manufactured four runs in the second inning, but Atlanta still only has one starter to cover 27 innings (at least) this weekend. Against an Astros team that, as it showed on Wednesday, grinds out at-bats as well as anyone in the sport.
And for Atlanta, there's obviously no reason to despair. A split on the road is an unequivocal win for the Braves: They're the ones with the advantage, and they're the ones with three games coming in front of 41,000 fans who haven't seen a World Series game in person since Chipper Jones was Dansby Swanson's age. And an alarmingly high percentage of them are going to be wearing pearls.
The Braves have to feel good after these two games. The Astros have to feel good after these two games. That is exactly what any fan would want after two games. This all to say: We clearly have a series. We surely always did. – Will Leitch
This morning's top news   (1-1) World Series Gm 3 Houston @ Atlanta Truist Park | Fri., 8:09 pm ET   (1-1)
Projected Lineups:  Luis Garcia, RHP #77 11-8 | 3.48 ERA | 167 K Postseason: 1-1 | 9.64 | 12K  Ian Anderson, RHP #36 9-5 | 3.58 ERA | 124 K Postseason: 1-0 | 2.25 | 12K
1. Jose Altuve, 2B 2. Michael Brantley, RF 3. Alex Bregman, 3B 4. Yordan Alvarez, LF 5. Carlos Correa, SS 6. Kyle Tucker, CF 7. Yuli Gurriel, 1B 8. MartÃn Maldonado, C 9. Luis Garcia, P
1. Eddie Rosario, LF 2. Freddie Freeman, 1B 3. Ozzie Albies, 2B 4. Austin Riley, 3B 5. Jorge Soler, RF 6. Adam Duvall, CF 7. Travis d'Arnaud, C 8. Dansby Swanson, SS 9. Ian Anderson, P A few more things to see ...   One gutsy scouting call on a high school pitcher from Mississippi ended up giving Austin Riley the chance to blossom.  Only one player has hit more postseason home runs than Jose Altuve after he went deep for the 22nd time in October last night.  Get a dugout-level view of Jose Siri's sprint home from third base on an errant throw in the second inning.  Nelson Cruz was named the 50th recipient of MLB's most prestigious individual honor for the work he has done in his hometown. "I live it, I see it every day. I see it as my duty to help," he has said.  Charlie Morton temporarily departed the World Series and traveled to Green Bay, Wis., to see a specialist about the fractured right fibula that ended his season in Game 1 on Tuesday night.  This is the story of Bill Bevens, who was one measly out away from becoming the first pitcher to throw a World Series no-hitter.  World Series Game 2 Recap
 Today's Trivia Question Who is the only player to homer from both sides of the plate in two postseason games?  © 2021 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners. |
Thursday, October 28, 2021
Series TIED. Astros win Game 2, Game 3 Friday
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