World Series 70: 1992 Braves vs. 2021 Astros

SERIES 70

(158) 1992 BRAVES vs. (179) 2021 ASTROS

The Braves won their 2^nd consecutive pennant, thanks to their strong rotation. Hall of Famers Tom Glavine (20-8, 2.76) and John Smoltz (15-12, 2.85) led the staff, which also featured Steve Avery (11-11, 3.20) and Charlie Liebrandt (15-7, 3.36). Terry Pendleton led the National League with 199 hits and hit .311/.345/.473, .818 OPS, 21 HR, 105 RBI. David Justice hit 21 HR, .805 OPS. The Braves lost to the Blue Jays in 6 games in the World Series.

The Astros lineup was filled with productive hitters: Jose Altuve (.839 OPS, 31 HR, 117 runs), Carlos Correa (.850 OPS, 26 HR, 92 RBI), Yuli Gurriel (led AL with .319 AVG and had .846 OPS) and Kyle Tucker (.294/.359/.557, .917 OPS, 30 HR, 92 RBI) and Yordan Alvarez (33 HR, .531 SLG, .877 OPS, 104 RBI). The balanced Astros’ rotation was 2^nd in the AL in ERA: Framber Valdez (11-6, 3.14), Lance McCullers Jr. (13-5, 3.16), Luis Garcia (11-8, 3.48) and Zack Greinke (11-6, 4.16). The Astros lost the World Series to Braves in 6 games.

The ace starter in Game 7 rule has been invoked. An additional day off has been scheduled to allow Tom Glavine to come back and make a third start in Game 7.

Game 1: Tom Glavine vs. Zack Greinke, in Atlanta. The Braves took the early lead on an RBI double by Alex Bregman and an RBI single by Carlos Correa in the first before Jose Altuve added an RBI double in the 2^nd. The Braves put a dent in the lead in the bottom of the inning when Damon Berryhill hit a 2 run homer. The Astros started to pull away in the 6^th on Chas McCormick’s RBI doubles and Altuve’s sac fly before Kyle Tucker’s RBI single in the 7^th made it a 6-2 game. Finally, the Astros piled on another run in the 9^th on Tucker’s bases loaded RBI single before, with the bases still loaded, Yuli Gurriel hit into a 5-4-3 DP to send the game to the bottom of the 9^th.

After Otis Nixon reached an E5 by Alex Bregman and Jeff Blauser walked, Terry Pendleton’s RBI single cut the Astros’ lead to 7-3. David Justice walked to load the bases before Sid Bream hit a grand slam off Cristian Javier to tie the game. Ryne Stanek immediately relieved Javier and hit Ron Gant. Gant stole 2^nd and went to third on Damon Berryhill’s groundout. The infield and outfield came in for Jeff Treadway, who lined a base hit up the middle for an 8-7 comeback walk-off win. The Braves had just 6 hits in the game, with Bream having 2 of them (1 HR, 4 RBI). The Astros had a 15-hit attack that featured hits by everyone in the lineup. Bregman had 3 hits (3 runs, 1 2B) and Mickey Brantley (1 run), Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker (2 RBI) and Martin Maldonado (1 run) each had 2 hits. Both starters got no decisions: Tom Glavine (5 R in 5.2 IP, 10 H, 3 K, 1 BB) and Zack Greinke (2 R in 7.1 IP, 3 H, 4 K, 1 BB).