World Series Game Five: No Home Runs, No Problem

As a sports fan, I always love when the World Series just happens to coincide with a football Sunday. It brings me back to 2009, when Game Four of that Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies took place in the "City of Brotherly Love," which also hosted an early NFL game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. Regarding this Sunday, which was also Halloween, the city of Atlanta was busy, as the Falcons were at home, as well as Game Five of this year's World Series.

The Atlanta Braves were one win away from their first championship in 26 years, and they got off to a hot start, as after the bases became loaded via a walk, Adam Duvall sent one deep to right field--a grand slam! The Braves went up 4-0, and even though it was the first inning, it seemed like this was the beginning of the Braves sealing the deal. The Astros had something to say about that; the second inning saw an Alex Bregman RBI single and a Martin Maldonado sac fly cut their deficit in half, and in the third inning, Carlos Correa's RBI double and Yuli Gurriel's RBI groundout tied the game at four. However, the bottom half of that frame saw Freddie Freeman hit one out, and the Braves' lead was back.

The Braves led until the fifth inning, which saw Maldonado tie the game on a bases-loaded walk. Marwin Gonzalez's bases loaded double gave the Astros the lead for the first time, and they would never look back, as Maldonado and Correa would add two more runs for Houston. The Astros bullpen stood strong; 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball, and as a result, the Astros went on to win Game Five by a score of 9-5--staying alive and sending the Series back to Houston.

This was a game the Astros needed. Game Three saw them completely shut down. Game Four saw them fail to get the timely hits. Game Five saw the Astros get those timely hits, and then some. The ironic thing about the Astros' nine runs: they didn't hit any home runs. The Braves' five runs were scored via the long ball, while the Astros scored their runs with small ball, timely hits, and even a bases loaded walk. That's the Astros' depth we've seen for years, and it's games like this one that have fans infuriated over 2017. The Astros are a naturally talented team. Why did they ever feel that they needed to cheat? It was so unnecessary!

The Braves' last eight runs have been scored via the long ball, but Game Five saw their home field magic run out, as they couldn't do a thing offensively after taking the lead back with Freeman's home run. The Braves remain one win away from a championship, but they must now do it in Houston, with a maximum two chances to get it done. The Braves entered Game Five unbeaten at home in this year's postseason, now they have their first and only loss.

Game Six is Tuesday back in Houston, and the Series will enter the month of November. The first Series to enter November was the 2001 campaign between the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks, and that was because the events of 9/11 put the sports world in a pause for a week, pushing everything back seven days. It was Game Four of that Series that saw Derek Jeter hit a walk-off home run as the clock struck midnight on November 1, 2001, making Jeter baseball's first-ever "Mr. November." There has been November baseball played since then, but not yearly. The Yankees' 27th and most recent championship (to date) was clinched on November 4, 2009. The Chicago Cubs ended their 108-year championship drought on November 2, 2016, and Houston's tainted 2017 championship was the last time that the Series reached November, with Game Seven taking place on November 1, 2017.

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