2021 World Series
The 2021 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2021 season. The 117th World Series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League champion Atlanta Braves and the American League champion Houston Astros. The series began on October 26 and concluded on November 2.
The Braves won the series four games to two. It was their fourth World Series title, their first since 1995, and their second in Atlanta—the first time they had won a second title in a city.
The Braves advanced to the World Series after winning the NL East division title. Atlanta then defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Division Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series. The Astros advanced to the ALDS after winning the AL West. Houston then defeated the Chicago White Sox in the AL Division Series and the Boston Red Sox in the AL Championship Series.
The Astros had home-field advantage because they had a better regular-season record than the Braves. The series was played in a 2–3–2 format, with the Astros hosting Games 1, 2, and 6 ; and the Braves hosting Games 3, 4, and 5. The teams split the first two games, which were played at Minute Maid Park in Houston, and the Braves won Games 3 and 4 at Truist Park in Atlanta to take a 3–1 lead. The Astros won Game 5, returning the series to Houston. The Braves won Game 6 to win the World Series. Jorge Soler was awarded the World Series Most Valuable Player Award after batting.300 in the series with home runs in three of the Braves victories, each time giving them a lead they would never surrender. This would also be the final World Series where the designated hitter rule was used only in the American League ballpark.
Background
The team with the better regular-season winning percentage, the Houston Astros, had home-field advantage in the series, thus hosting Games 1, 2, and 6.The Astros and Braves had previously met in the postseason five times, in the National League Division Series when the Astros competed in the National League. Of those five series, the Braves won three while the Astros won two. The Astros and Braves played in the National League West from 1969 to 1993. This was the first World Series to be played entirely in the Deep South.
The teams' jerseys lacked a World Series patch for the first time since 1997, though a patch was on their caps.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves were managed by Brian Snitker, who joined the organization in 1977 and became their manager in 2016. The Braves qualified for the postseason after winning the National League East for the fourth straight season. They played four months with a winning percentage at.500 or below before finally surpassing.500 on August 6, the latest point in a season that an eventual league champion achieved a winning record. In the best-of-five National League Division Series, the third-seeded Braves defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in four games. In the best-of-seven National League Championship Series, the Braves defeated the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. Left fielder Eddie Rosario was named NLCS MVP after hitting 14-for-25 with 3 home runs and 9 runs batted in in the series.This was the Braves' first World Series appearance since 1999, tenth in franchise history, and sixth while in Atlanta. The Braves entered the series with three prior World Series titles, one as the Atlanta Braves in and one while based in each of their previous cities of Boston and Milwaukee.
An Omaha World-Herald employee, Steven Elonich, predicted that the Braves would win the 2021 World Series in an article published in 2018. At that point, the Braves were coming off a three-year stretch that saw 278 combined losses — more than any three-year stretch by the franchise since 1988 through 1990.
Houston Astros
Under second-year manager Dusty Baker, the Houston Astros qualified for the postseason as the American League West division winner, having finished atop the division for the fourth time in five seasons. In the best-of-five American League Division Series, the second-seeded Astros defeated the Chicago White Sox in four games. In the best-of-seven American League Championship Series, the Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox in six games, with designated hitter Yordan Alvarez named ALCS MVP after batting 12-for-23 in the series. Starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr., who missed the ALCS due to a forearm strain suffered during the ALDS, was omitted from Houston's World Series roster due to that injury.Baker became the ninth manager to win both American and National League pennants. Baker's gap of 19 years between appearances in the World Series is surpassed only by Bucky Harris, who managed in the and editions. At 72 years and 4 months old, Baker became the second-oldest manager in World Series history, the oldest having been Jack McKeon of the Florida Marlins in, who was seven months older. Astros' hitting coach Troy Snitker is the son of Brian Snitker, the Braves manager. As a player, Baker was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1967 and spent seven seasons there.
This was the Astros' third World Series appearance in five years, having appeared in and, and fourth overall, having also appeared in when they represented the National League. Their only prior World Series title came in 2017.
Summary
Matchups
Game 1
In pregame ceremonies, the national anthem was performed by Keke Palmer, and the ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by former Astro and National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Craig Biggio.Framber Valdez started for Houston while former Astro Charlie Morton started for Atlanta. Jorge Soler led off the World Series with a home run to left field for a 1–0 Atlanta lead after the first three pitches; he became the first player ever to lead off a World Series with a wall-clearing home run. A one-out single by Ozzie Albies followed by a double from Austin Riley gave the Braves a 2–0 lead. In the bottom of the first, the Astros had the bases loaded with two outs following a single and two walks, but Morton got Kyle Tucker to ground out, ending the threat. Atlanta added a run in the top of the second on two singles, a fly out, and a fielder's choice, making it 3–0. Freddie Freeman then singled and Albies beat out an infield grounder, loading the bases with two outs, but Valdez struck out Riley to end the inning. In the top of the third, Eddie Rosario singled, followed by a two-run home run from Adam Duvall, making it 5–0 Braves and driving Valdez from the game after 52 pitches.
Morton left in the bottom of the third inning with an injury; X-rays later revealed a fibular fracture in his right leg, causing him to miss the remainder of the series. The injury stemmed from a comebacker off the bat of Yuli Gurriel in the bottom of the second. It was unclear when Morton's leg was fractured; Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters that X-rays taken in between innings revealed nothing wrong with Morton, though he said Morton's leg was "stressed." Morton threw 16 pitches following the injury, retiring the next three batters he faced and striking out two.
A. J. Minter was brought into the game; Michael Brantley hit a one-out double to right, but Minter retired the next two batters to end the inning. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Tucker hit a one-out double, advanced to third when Gurriel singled with one out, and scored on a fielder's choice, making it 5–1. In the top of the eighth, after three scoreless innings, Dansby Swanson walked, advanced to third on a single by Soler, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Freeman, extending Atlanta's lead to 6–1. In the bottom of the inning, Yordan Alvarez hit a lead-off triple and then scored on a groundout by Carlos Correa, making the score 6–2. In the bottom of the ninth, Atlanta closer Will Smith allowed only one walk, to Aledmys Díaz, as the Braves took a 1–0 lead in the series, their first World Series win since Game 2 in 1996, and ending an eight-game losing streak.
Game 2
Before the game, Atlanta added Tucker Davidson to their roster in replacement of the injured Charlie Morton. Giavanni Walker, a petty officer first class in the United States Navy, sang the national anthem, and Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell threw the ceremonial first pitch.Max Fried started for Atlanta while José Urquidy started for Houston. In the bottom of the first inning, Jose Altuve doubled, advanced to third on a flyout by Michael Brantley, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Alex Bregman, giving Houston a 1–0 lead. In the top of the second, Atlanta tied the game, 1–1, via a solo home run to left field by Travis d'Arnaud, coming on a full count with two outs. In the bottom of the second, the Astros hit three consecutive one-out singles, retaking the lead, 2–1. With runners on first and second, Martín Maldonado delivered a base hit to the outfield, driving in another run. Braves left fielder Eddie Rosario tried to throw out José Siri advancing from first to third, but no Braves player was on the base resulting in an error and allowing Siri to score and making it 4–1. After Altuve lined out, Brantley singled to make it 5–1. In total, the Astros collected four runs on five singles, tying their club record for most hits in an inning in the World Series.
With two outs in the top of the fifth inning, Freddie Freeman delivered an RBI single to left, scoring d'Arnaud and cutting the Astros' lead to 5–2. Houston extended their lead to 6–2 in the sixth on a fielder's choice that scored Yordan Alvarez. The final run came in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Altuve homered on the first pitch by Drew Smyly, making it 7–2. It was the 22nd home run of Altuve's postseason career, tying him with Bernie Williams for the second-most all-time. This was the first victory by the home team in a World Series since 2018.
Game 3
In pregame ceremonies, the ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Hank Aaron Jr., as his father was honored before the game; the national anthem was performed by Zac Brown. This was the first World Series game ever played at Truist Park, and the first played in Atlanta since. Ian Anderson started for Atlanta while Luis García started for Houston, marking the first time two rookie pitchers started against each other in a World Series since Justin Verlander and Anthony Reyes opened Game 1 in.After two and a half scoreless innings, the Braves scored on an RBI double by Austin Riley that drove in Eddie Rosario in the bottom of the third inning. García was relieved after innings, having allowed one run on three hits while striking out six batters. Anderson allowed no hits, three walks, and one hit batsman while striking out four in five innings. The Astros remained hitless through seven innings, as A. J. Minter and Luke Jackson did not allow a hit in the sixth or seventh, respectively. Tyler Matzek started the eighth for the Braves and allowed a bloop single to Aledmys Díaz, who was replaced by José Siri as a pinch-runner. With two outs, Siri stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Travis d'Arnaud, but was left on base as Michael Brantley popped out. In the bottom of the eighth, d'Arnaud hit a solo home run to extend Atlanta's lead to 2–0. That home run was the first time home runs were hit in back-to-back games by the same player since Ryan Klesko did so in the 1995 World Series. d'Arnaud became the first catcher to do this since Roy Campanella did so for the Dodgers in the 1955 World Series. Will Smith, Atlanta's closer, pitched in the top of the ninth inning. He allowed a leadoff single to Alex Bregman, then retired the next three batters, giving Atlanta a 2–1 lead in the series. The seven-inning no-hit bid by the Atlanta pitching staff was the longest in a World Series game since Jim Lonborg of the Boston Red Sox went innings before allowing a hit in Game 2 of the 1967 World Series. This was the first shutout in the World Series since Game 3 of the 2016 World Series.