The 117th annual MLB World Series Championship took place last week between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros. This matchup was not anticipated, considering the Braves had a sub-10 percent chance of making it to the World Series back in August. After their star player Ronald Acuna Jr. had gone down to a gruesome leg injury, the Braves had to tackle free agency in order to revamp their lineup. The Braves finished the season 88-73 and the Astros finished the season 95-67. This World Series battle was concluded in six games and here is a summary of each one just in case you missed it:

Game 1

The Atlanta Braves won game one 6-2 behind the bat of Jorge Soler who went 2-5 with a home run, a run scored, and two runs batted in. The Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton took a ball to the leg which took him out of the game after only pitching 2.1 innings. It was later discovered that his leg was broken and he was out for the rest of the series. Morton threw 16 pitches on his broken leg before being taken out of the game. Astros manager Dusty Baker said after the game, “Our team doesn’t worry.”

Game 2

The Houston Astros made a huge turnaround in game two and came out victorious by a score of 7-2. This came behind the power of star second baseman Jose Altuve who went 2-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and a run batted in. Astros starting pitcher Jose Urquidy pitched five solid innings allowing only two runs and striking out seven Braves batters. People named Jose must’ve had a good day that day. 

Game 3 

The Braves took the W in this low scoring affair that ended 2-0. The Braves bullpen helped the Braves in this one combining for nine scoreless innings and seven total strikeouts. Starting pitcher Ian Anderson threw the first five allowing no hits and A.J. Minter, Luke Jackson, Tyler Matzek, and Will Smith pitched the last four combined allowing two hits. The Braves were up 2-1 in the series after this game and were looking to get one step closer in game four. 

Game 4

Game four was a must win for the Astros in order for them to keep the Braves from pulling too far away. The Braves knew this was the case and beat the Astros in a close battle with a score of 3-2. This Braves W came from the power of two home runs coming from shortstop Dansby Swanson and outfielder Jorge Soler who pinch hit is. These two left field blasts put the Braves over top of the Astros in this crucial game four. With the series being 3-1 in favor of the Braves, the Astros are now in a win or go home scenario. 

Game 5

The Astros understood the assignment for Game 5. This game was a total offensive showcase from Houston. Despite an early grand slam from Braves outfielder Adam Duvall, the Astros were able to combat with the bats of their own. Star shortstop Carlos Correa went 3-5 with a run scored and two runs batted in. Martin Maldonado was 1-3 with three runs batted in. Yuli Gurriel added his own touch going 3-5 with two runs scored and a run batted in. The final score was 9-5. The Astros came out hot in this must win game for the Texas natives. 

Game 6 

With the Braves 1 game away from a title and the Astros needing to win two straight, both teams needed to win this game in order to take home the trophy. The last time the Braves were up 3-1 in the playoffs, they allowed the Dodgers to come back and eliminate them in the 2020 NLCS. In this series, the Braves were up 3-1 once again and when they lost game five, Braves fans began to fear a 2020 repeat. The Braves did not want to disappoint their fans again. The Braves came to play in this must win game and dominated the Astros 7-0. The bats were on fire for Atlanta. Jorge Soler went 1-3 with a monster homerun, two runs scored, and three runs batted in. Braves star first baseman Freddie Freeman went 2-4 with a homerun and two runs batted in. Second baseman Ozzie Albies went 2-3 with two runs scored and shortstop Dansby Swanson went 1-4 with a homerun, a run scored, and two runs batted in. The game ended on a ground ball to shortstop Dansby Swanson who made the throw over to first to crown the Braves champions.

The first world series title for the Atlanta Braves since 1995 came in this rollercoaster of a baseball season. The Braves lost their star player in July and were below .500 going into August. Despite the setbacks, the Braves powered through the season and came out victorious. Outfielder Jorge Soler was named World Series MVP and is the second Cuban-Born player to win the award. 

The Blue and White spoke with a couple of students to get their opinions on this year’s World Series. When asked about how she felt about the Atlanta Braves winning it all, junior Jaelyn Diller told us that it made her the happiest she’s been in a long time. When her favorite player Ronald Acuna Jr went down, she did not have very high hopes for her team to win. She is glad she was able to witness this historic moment of her favorite team. Sophomore Reid Taylor told us he didn’t expect his Braves to pull it out this year, but he was very excited when it did happen. Many other Braves fans felt the same as these two, and when Freddie Freeman caught the game-ending throw at first, the city of Atlanta and Braves fans all around the world went crazy. 

One question remains:  Will the Braves repeat in 2022, or will a new World Series champion be crowned?