Two games into this year’s World Series, and it’s down to the best three out of five games. The Braves took game one in Houston with ease, winning 6-2, and the Astros took game two, also in Houston, with the score 7-2. Now the series shifts to Atlanta and Truist Park tonight. First pitch is set for 8:08pm est, and there is a possibility of a stray shower or two tonight with lows in the upper 40’s. Currently, it definitely feels like October baseball weather. I live about 20 minutes from Truist Park and looking outside it is overcast, drizzly, and cool. But there should be baseball played tonight in the 404.
It’s been 22 years since the Braves had a home World Series game. This is going to be a tight series, tied 1-1, which both teams are evenly matched. By far, the Astros have the best offense in the majors this year, but the Braves are not far behind. Both pitching staffs are not dominant, but they are solid from starters to bullpen. The Astros had 95 wins in the regular season while the Braves came into postseason play with 88. Whenever I listen to sports radio or sports tv, they never fail to mention that the Braves had the worst record of all the playoff teams. During the NLCS, the TBS announcers would remind the viewers that every game. But as I say, it doesn’t matter the record when you get to the last dance, it’s which team is hot, and the Braves and Astros are hot, and battling for that 2021 crown. Look at it this way, in the 2007 NFL season, the NY football Giants had a record of 8-8, a wild card team in the playoffs, and beat the 16-0 New England Patriots 17-14 to win Super Bowl XLII. The Giants were the David going into that playoff season, and beat the Goliath.
The Astros won the 2017 World Series, and just have a handful of players still on this team that were on the 2017 team, that eventually got caught for cheating way after they won the title. But under new manager Dusty Baker, Jr, the Astros have righted what went wrong then, to playing solid baseball. The Braves however, were a subpar team with a losing record at the All-Star break, and didn’t get above .500 until 111 games into the season. So it doesn’t matter how you start, it’s how you finish.
Check back for my next writeup in a few days of how the series has gone in Atlanta, if a team has been crowned or does the series shift back to Houston for game six and /or seven.
IN OTHER NEWS: Country singer Zac Brown will sing our National Anthem before Friday night’s game. Brown was born in Atlanta and grew up around the Lake Lanier region just Northeast of the city.
Header photo courtesy of CBS Sports
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