World Series Game Four: On the Verge

The Atlanta Braves' first home World Series game in 22 years was a victorious one, and was almost a historic one, as the Braves nearly no-hit the Houston Astros. Even with the no-hit bid gone, the Braves went on to take a 2-1 lead in the Fall Classic, and 24 hours later, the two teams faced off in Game Four.

However, it was not a good start for the Braves. The Astros scored early with an RBI groundout in the top of the first inning, and while the Braves used an opener, the Astros had Zack Greinke on the mound. Jose Altuve added to the offense with his solo shot in the fourth inning--his second HR of the Series, and his 23rd career postseason HR, moving him into sole possession of second place all time. The Astros went up 2-o, and were shutting down the Braves, as it look like a 2-2 series was all but inevitable. Austin Riley ended the shutout with an RBI single in the sixth inning, but with the bases loaded in that same inning, Travis d'Arnaud (who homered twice in this Series) struck out, keeping the Braves down by one.

Then the seventh inning happened. Dansby Swanson tied it up with a solo shot. Jorge Soler followed with a shot of his own--his second of the Series. With just two swings of the bat from two batters, the Braves took the lead, and the game changed permanently. Eddie Rosario delivered defensively; an amazing catch to rob Altuve of extra bases, and Will Smith shut the door in the ninth inning. The Atlanta Braves won Game Four by a score of 3-2. They are on the verge of a championship.

After racking up six hits and two runs in the first five innings, the Astros only had two in the final four. Alex Bregman's bat continued to get colder; going 0-for-5 in Game Four. Yuli Gurriel went 0-for-2 with two walks. Yordan Alvarez, the MVP of the 2021 ALCS, went 0-for-3. Plain and simple: Jose Altuve provided a large percentage of the Astros' offense so far in this Series, and as we have seen, that hasn't been enough.

I repeat: the Atlanta Braves are on the verge of a championship. They are just one win away. Here's a team who was struggling in a subpar National League East, and it became worse with the big injuries to Ronald Acuña, Jr, and Marcell Ozuna. In spite of this, the Braves roared back and capitalized on the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies' misfortunes, and took the NL East at just 88-73. They took down the Milwaukee Brewers, they avenged themselves against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and now here they are, just one win away from their first championship in 26 years.

However, and I have to bring this up, history is not on the Braves' side. The last time they had a 3-1 series lead was the 2020 NLCS, and we know how that ended. Plus, it was five years ago that the Cleveland Indians became the most recent team to go up 3-1 in the Fall Classic and lose. Five years isn't a long time in baseball, but even so, this Braves team is something special. They appear to be a team of destiny. They don't look like they will be looking back after this Game Four victory. We could see a huge celebration for the Braves, and it could be in their home town.

Game Five is Sunday in Atlanta.

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