Braves blank Astros, capture World Series title in Game 6
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[November 03, 2021] If
not for the loss of Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna, the Atlanta
Braves never would have acquired Jorge Soler from the Kansas City
Royals.
And who suspected a player struggling with a .192 average in Kansas
City would end up being a World Series hero.
Soler smacked a mammoth three-run homer on Tuesday night as the key
blow of a 7-0 victory over the host Houston Astros in Game 6 that
gave Atlanta its first World Series title since 1995.
Soler was named World Series MVP after becoming the fourth player in
Braves history to hit three homers in a World Series. The others are
Hall of Famer Hank Aaron (1957), Lonnie Smith (1991) and Ryan Klesko
(1995).
Soler wasn't the only key cog in the clinching victory. Dansby
Swanson hit a two-run blast, Freddie Freeman also went deep and Max
Fried pitched six shutout innings.
Fried (1-1) gave up four hits and struck out six without issuing a
walk as the Braves won the best-of-seven series four games to two.
"We have been waiting for a championship in this city for a long
time, and I'm glad we delivered it," said Freeman, who has spent 12
seasons with Atlanta.
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The Braves acquired outfielders Adam Duvall, Joc Pederson, Eddie
Rosario and Soler to patch up the holes caused by the losses of
Ozuna (administrative leave due to domestic violence allegations) in
late May and Acuna (ACL tear) just before the All-Star break.
Soler led the American League with 48 homers in 2019 but
subsequently was unable to approach that production. Atlanta
acquired him cheaply, giving up just minor league right-hander Kasey
Kalich.
The 29-year-old Cuban accepted his role and hit 14 homers in 55
games with the Braves.
Soler's 446-foot blast on Tuesday came on an eight-pitch at-bat in
the third inning after Ozzie Albies hit a leadoff single and Rosario
drew a two-out walk off Houston right-hander Luis Garcia.
Soler jumped all over a full-count pitch and sent a rocket over the
train tracks above the left-center-field fence to give Atlanta a 3-0
lead.
"I was just really focused during that at-bat," Soler said through a
translator. "I felt like he had thrown me every pitch that he had in
his arsenal. I eventually got to that 3-2 count and he hung the
slider and I was able to drive it."
Atlanta's pitching protected the lead as Fried rebounded from a
shaky Game 2 loss and the bullpen stood out.
Tyler Matzek struck out four and allowed one hit in two innings.
Will Smith yielded one hit in the ninth before retiring Yuli Gurriel
on a grounder to complete a six-hit shutout as Atlanta pitching shut
down the Astros once again.
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![](../images/110321PIX/sports25.jpg)
Atlanta Braves left fielder Eddie Rosario (8) high fives right
fielder Joc Pederson (22) after making a catch at the wall against
the Houston Astros during the eighth inning of game four of the 2021
World Series at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY
Sports
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All the Houston hits on Tuesday were singles. The Astros scored just
four total runs in their four World Series losses, and they were
blanked twice.
"Their pitching shut us down," Houston manager Dusty Baker said.
"It's tough, but you have to keep on truckin' and it gives you even
more incentive next year. It's tough to take now. It really hurts."
The Astros have played in the World Series three times in the past
five seasons. Houston defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017 and
lost to the Washington Nationals in 2019 prior to this year's
defeat.
Astros shortstop Carlos Correa acknowledged the bitter
disappointment that comes with failing to win the title.
"People expect greatness when you talk about the Houston Astros,"
Correa said. "They expect us to make the playoffs every year. They
expect us to be in the World Series every year. That's because of
the atmosphere and chemistry that we built in this clubhouse."
The Braves defeated the Cleveland Indians in six games in 1995 for
their first World Series title in Atlanta. They relocated from
Milwaukee prior to the 1966 season.
This year, Atlanta never was over .500 until Aug. 6.
"These guys never gave up on themselves," Braves manager Brian
Snitker said. "We lost a lot of pieces over the course of the summer
and it was just next man up. These guys never stopped believing in
themselves and they never stopped working."
Houston's Garcia (0-2) allowed three runs, two hits and one walk
while striking out three in 2 2/3 innings.
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Swanson's two-run homer off Cristian Javier was the key blow of a
three-run fifth inning. Albies drew a leadoff walk and moved to
second on a wild pitch. Swanson came up one out later and sent a 2-2
fastball over the wall in left for his second homer of the series.
Blake Taylor replaced Javier and walked Soler before Freeman
followed with a run-scoring double off the fence in left-center to
make it 6-0.
Freeman hit a two-out solo homer to center in the seventh off Ryne
Stanek to make it a seven-run margin. It was Freeman's second homer
of the series and fifth of the 2021 postseason, matching the
franchise record set by Fred McGriff in 1996.
--Field Level Media
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