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World Series Game Two: Astros' Pitching Leads the Way

A collective effort by the Astros' pitching staff results in a 1-1 Series

By Clyde E. DawkinsPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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Game One of the World Series was dominated by the Atlanta Braves' pitching, as well as timely home runs by Jorge Soler and Adam Duvall. For the Houston Astros, they needed to strike back in order to salvage something in the first two games in their park. Game Two started off on the right foot for the Astros; an Alex Bregman sac fly in the first inning to put the Astros up 1-0. The top half of the second inning saw Travis d'Arnaud tie it up with a solo shot; the Braves' third HR of the Series, but after that, the Astros exploded with four runs in their half of the second inning, resulting in a 5-1 lead for the Astros after two innings.

After that, the Astros pitching did the rest. José Urquidy pretty much shut the door after that, only surrendering a Freddie Freeman RBI in the fifth inning. Overall, Urquidy gave up six hits and two earned runs in five innings of work. The Astros added two more runs, one of them coming from Jose Altuve, whose solo shot in the seventh inning drove in the team's seventh run of the game. Houston relievers only gave up one hit and struck out five in the final four innings, and the Astros left Minute Maid Park as the winners of Game Two--7-2 being the final score.

This was another shaky outing for Braves starter Max Fried, who gave up six of Houston's seven runs (all earned) in five innings pitched. His numbers in this year's postseason so far: 21 2/3 innings pitched, a 1-2 record, and a 5.40 ERA. Despite those numbers, Fried's first two starts in this year's postseason were quality starts, but even so, those are not good numbers. As for the Braves' hitters, Eddie Rosario (the 2021 NLCS MVP), Joc Pederson, and Adam Duvall each went 0-for-4, with Pederson striking out three times. The only Braves hitter to have multiple hits was the aforementioned d'Arnaud, who went 2-for-4 and homered.

As for the Astros, only Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez went hitless, Michael Brantley went 2-for-4 and drove in a run, and Jose Altuve went 2-for-5 and homered. For Altuve, his 7th inning HR was his 22nd postseason home run of his career, tying him with Bernie Williams for second all time. Only Manny Ramirez has more (29).

Here's a fun fact: Game Two of this Series is the first game won by a home team in three years. We have to go all the way back to Game Three of the 2018 Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers; the 18-inning classic that the Dodgers won with a walk-off home run by Max Muncy. It was also the only game the Dodgers won; the Red Sox won Games Four and Five at Dodger Stadium. Not counting the 2020 Series (which was played in a solitary bubble), the home team had lost ten straight Series games, including all seven games of the 2019 Fall Classic. For the Astros, they had lost five straight Series games at home; their last win was Game 5 of the controversial 2017 series against the Dodgers--which went 10 innings and ended with a final score of 13-12 despite Clayton Kershaw (LAD) and Dallas Keuchel (HOU) being the game's starters.

So the Series is now even at one game each, and now the scene shifts to Atlanta for the next three games. The Braves do have the home field advantage now, as they took Game One in Houston, and with a split Series, they can win the whole thing if they sweep their home heart of the Series. Game Three is Friday in Atlanta; it will be the first World Series game in Atlanta since Game Two of the 1999 Series, which was played on October 24 of that year.

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About the Creator

Clyde E. Dawkins

I am an avid fan of sports and wrestling, and I've been a fan of female villains since the age of eight. Also into film and TV, especially Simpsons and Family Guy.

Feel free to follow my social media:

Twitter - Facebook - Tiktok - Instagram

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