Atlanta Braves Capture First World Series Title in 26 Years

The Atlanta Braves completed a remarkable season by knocking off the Houston Astros 7 to 0 in the decisive Game 6 of 2021 Fall Classic. Injuries depleted the roster early in the year and when Ronald Acuna Jr., an MVP candidate, went down with a torn ACL in July, most in the baseball world had begun to write them off. They were dismissed by most as late as August of 2021, but found themselves within striking distance in the NL East late in the year after summer acquisitions of outfielders Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall and Joc Pederson. Rosario was named NLCS MVP while Soler was named World Series MVP.

The 2021 Braves also lost Marcell Ozuna, who was signed to a $65 million extension after a stellar 2020 campaign, after being arrested on a domestic violence charge in May. Promising young pitcher Mike Soroka tore his Achilles in June while trying to work back from a separate injury. Charlie Morton broke his leg in Game 1 of the World Series leaving the team with only 2 legitimate starting pitchers to finish the series. But manager Brian Snitker in his 44th season with the organization pressed all the right buttons getting Atlanta through 2 bullpen days at Truist Field to return to Houston with a 3-2 series advantage.

The right buttons included a lineup shift in Game 6 that put Rosario and Soler at the top of the lineup followed by Freddie Freeman and pushing Ozzie Albies to the 7th spot in the lineup. The moves proved to be perfect for the evening as Albies was able to get on base 3 times, finally finding his swing in a series that he has struggled in. After Albies reached base in the 3rd and Rosario drew a walk, Soler came to the plate and crushed a homer over the train track at Minute Maid Park that measured at 446 feet. The homer seemed to take the air out of the stadium for Houston and the 3-0 lead behind the pitching of Max Fried proved to be too much for the Astros.

After a shaky start to the contest, Fried settled in and had a masterful performance going 6 innings with 6 strikeouts before giving way to the stellar bullpen of Atlanta. Atlanta native and former 1st overall pick Dansby Swanson added a 2 run homer in the 5th and a Freeman double that plated Soler and a Freeman solo shot made it 7 to nothing. Tyler Matzek and Will Smith handled the rest giving the Braves their first World Series title since 1995.