Braves 6-2 Astros summary, score, stats and highlights: World Series Game 1
Braves vs. Astros: World Series Game 1
That will conclude our live commentary for Game 1. Join us tomorrow and, as ever, you can follow all the baseball news and action on en.as.com/mlb
Tomorrow will see Game 2 and more great action from the World Series. We will have live commentary for all seven games (if necessary) here at Diario As English.
The real big story of course is the broken leg suffered by Charlie Morton, ending his season.
The game was never in doubt really from the two runs that Atlanta scored in the first inning, Houston could never really answer it and from then on it was just Atlanta's night.
Brantley will step in and represent Houston's last chance. He hits to Albies at second and the throw to first ends the game. Atlanta win 6-2
Jose Altuve hits to shortstop and they go the other way, 6-4-3 and again they get the lead runner but Altuve beats the throw at first. Two down now and a runner at first.
Castro hits one to second base and they go for the 4-6-3 double play. They get the first but Castro beats out the throw. One down and a runner at first base.
Smith won't want to throw him anything to hit now.
Jason Castro comes to the plate and quickly falls behind 0-2
The count runs full and Diaz gets lucky that there is a terrible missed call by the umpire. A definite strike was called ball four and Diaz is on first.
Diaz hits a long bomb to left and it hooks just foul! He missed a homerun by about three feet.
Will Smith will take the mound to try and close out game one for Atlanta. He will face pinch hitter Aledmys Diaz.
It now comes down to the last three outs for Houston. They need four to keep the game alive.
Adam Duvall gets set down with three straight pitches to end the top of the ninth.
Rosario catches a breaking ball off the end of the bat and it is swept up by Bregman who makes the throw to first for the second out of the inning.
Top of the ninth and Austin Riley is swinging at the first pitch and hits a shot that backs up Brantley to the warning track, one out.
It was a great hit, only an inch or two from a homerun. But baseball, like life, is a game of inches. And instead of a run clawed back, it is the end of the inning.
Gurriel is first pitch swinging and hits a bomb off the wall in left. Gurriel tries to stretch it to two and is gunned out at second by a fantastic throw from Rosario! Dusty Baker will argue that it was a homerun but it clearly hit the wall below the yellow line.
Matzek faces Kyle Tucker and quickly jumps on him with three straight pitches, 98mph, 98mph and 99mph.
Correa comes up and bounces one to Albies at short. He makes the throw to first and Alvarez will score on the fielder's choice. Houston clawing one back.
Matzek will go to work on Yordan Alvarez in the bottom of the eighth and Alvarez smacks one long! It is going back in center and it comes off the top of the wall. Alvarez is moving and going for third and he is in with a stand up triple to start the inning.
Next up is Albies and he is first pitch swinging as well. He hits a little chopper to Altuve and he will step on second for the force out to end the inning. Atlanta tacks one more on for a little insurance. Middle of eight, 6-1 Atlanta.
Freddie Freeman likes the first delivery from Brooks Raley and pops it to right field. Swanson tags and the throw to the plate brings Castro up the line a bit and Swanson get in to score one more!
Jorge Soler goes into the strangest play you can imagine! First pitch check swing rolls in between the mound and first, too far for Gurriel and Stanek can't catch up to it. As it dribbles away, Swanson makes it around to third. Men are on the corner with one out. And that will do it for Stanek. Houston will make a pitching change.
Dansby Swanson fights off three fouls balls at 3-2 before drawing the walk. Strong at-bat!
Pederson hits into the shift and the throw is picked nicely by Gurriel for the putout.
Jason Castro will take over as catcher for Ryne Stanek as Houston will face Joc Pederson in the top of the eighth.
A big looping curve for a called strike three to Bregman. That brings us to the top of the eighth, still 5-1
Alex Bregman comes up with two outs to try and move Brantley around the bases.
Brantley goes opposite field for a two-out single. He thought about second for a minute but Rosario made an excellent throw.
Jackson will be done and the Braves bring out the left handed pitcher Tyler Matzek to face Michael Brantley.
The payoff is a sinker and Altuve swings well over it. Strike three for the second out.
He stays picky and gets a full count.
Altuve is 0 for 3 on the night and he takes a called strike one.
Luke Jackson will now face Jose Altuve.
Castro hits a shot to first and Freeman will field it and touch the bag for the first out.
We move to the bottom half of seven and Jason Casto leads off. He will replace Martín Maldonado in the lineup.
He fights off a couple more to get the count to 2-2 before hitting it to short for the double play. D'Arnaud is called safe but on review it is overturned and the top of the seventh is over.
D'Arnaud gets a 97 mph fastball to start him off.
Travis d'Arnaud will come to the plate but not before Dusty decides to take a trip to the mound. A quick chat and the takes the ball. Stanek makes his way to the mound for Houston.
Maton misses the first three before finally dropping a strike in to Duvall. His next pitch misses and he gets the base on balls giving Atlanta two runners on.
Adam Duvall now stands in as Houston has Stanek working in the bullpen.
Eddie Rosario tears one down the left field line for a standup double.
The count works around to full and Maton delivers a slider off the plate, but Riley chases it and misses for out number one.
Riley will lead off the Braves order and gets heat from Maton.
McCormick comes to the plate and chases a nasty sinker for strike three. That will end the inning and we go to seven Houston still chasing Atlanta by four.
Gurriel chops one to Albies at short. Tucker was running on contact so the only play was at first. We have two down now with a baserunner at second.
Tucker comes out first pitch swinging and he loops it into center for a single.
Carlos can't hold off the check swing for strike three.
Luke Jackson will get the call for Atlanta now and will start off facing Carlos Correa.
Albies hits one to third and this time Bregman can make the throw in time. The Braves sit down and we go to the bottom of six, still 5-1.
Freddie Freeman comes to the plate and hits one that is backhanded by Alex Bregman. The throw is just too long and Freeman beats it out for his first hit of the game. We now have men on first and second for Ozzie Albies.
Soler gets frozen with a great curveball for a called strike three. Two away.
Phil Maton will take the pitching duties now an out and a runner on first. For his first batter, he will face Jorge Soler.
Malodonado goes to have a chat with Odorizzi. Maton is warming up in the bullpen and Dusty Baker comes out to join the party. He makes the call and that will do it for Odorizzi.
Dansby Swanson comes to the plate and works the count to 3-2 before getting one that he can slap into left for a single. One on and one out.
Top of the sixth and Jake Odorizzi is having a great run here, and leads the inning by getting Joc Pederson to fly out to shallow right field for the first out.
Yordan Alvarez comes to the plate and pops one to center and that will end the inning.
Bregman now and he gets rung up looking on a beauty of a fastball.
Michael Brantley manages to get the count around to 3-2 before popping one to deep left. Not quite enough and it is pulled in on the warning track for the first out.
AJ Minter goes into his third inning of work and faces Brantley to lead off.
Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud comes to the plate and gets rung up on almost the same pitch as Duvall. Odorizzi has definitely found his rhythm.
Adam Duvall steps in and works the count full before getting punched out looking on a 95 mph four-seamer for the second out.
News just coming in is that Charlie Morton has sustained a broken fibula and will miss the rest of the season.
Odorizzi will face the middle of the Braves order in the fifth, and gets Rosario to ground out to second for the first out.
He pops a little flare straight back to Minter on the first pitch. Houston leaves two men on, but get on the scoreboard.
Maldonado goes down on three straight strikes. He was swinging all the way. Two down in the bottom of the fourth for Jose Altuve.
Chas McCormick comes up and hits a shot to short and it is botched by Swanson! Everyone is safe. Houston is on the scoreboard.
Yuli hammers one into left for a base hit. It fell right in front of Rosario so Tucker could only advance to third. Houston have men on the corners with only one out.
Gurriel comes to the dish with a man in scoring position and only one out. This is as good an opportunity as Houston have had all night.
Kyle Tucker jumps all over the first pitch and puts it into right field for a stand-up double.
Correa taps one up the middle but Albies fields it and makes the throw to first for the out.
AJ Minter will face Carlos Correa in the Astros half of the fourth.
The 3-2 delivery is a backdoor fastball that gets Riley swinging. The Astros get out of the inning and we move to the bottom half still 5-0.
Riley stays disciplied on the next few and runs the count to full.
Austin Riley comes in and gets two quick fastballs for strikes. Odorizzi is ahead of him 0-2.
On top of two infield hits and a stolen base, Albies is tearing Houston up on the bases.
His speed is what made Yuli try to hurry up and what ultimately caused that error.
Ozzie Albies hits the first pitch to Gurriel and hustles it out. Gurriel bobbles it and Ozzie is on again!
Freddie Freeman watches three pitches for the strikeout. Two away.
The tenth pitch is a splitter that gets him swinging for the first out.
...and fouls it back. That was the ninth pitch of the at bat. This has been a battle!
Soler manages to get the count to 3-2 and gets the payoff...
Dusty Baker will be hoping to get a few innings out of Odorizzi, as he has traditionally been a starting pitcher.
Houston brings on Odorizzi to face the Braves in the fourth. Jorge Soler will lead them off.
But not this time! Alvarez goes fishing and chases one low and outside for strike three.
The Astros have 40 RBIs with two outs in the postseason, more than any other team.
Yordan Alvarez comes to the plate now with a man on second and two outs. Throughout the playoffs, this has been the Astros favorite run-scoring spot to be in.
Alex Bregman chops one to third and the throw to first puts him out for the second out.
Brantley rips Minter's delivery down the line into right for a one-out double.
AJ Minter will get the call to takeover for Atlanta and he takes on Michael Brantley.
Morton really grimaced on that last pitch and that is going to be it. He is limping and the Braves are going to take him out of the game now. On that last delivery, Morton almost collapsed, so his leg is in some discomfort.
Altuve works the count to 2-2 and gets a beauty of a curve ball for a called strike three.
Morton delivers a strike to Jose Altuve to lead off the bottom of the third.
Who knows what is going on.
Morton has taken the mound.
When Morton left the dugout, there was very little action in the Braves bullpen. They had two pitchers up, but working very lightly. No one looked as if they were preparing to come into the game. And just before the end of the inning, Morton re-appeared in the dugout. Not sure what will happening here, but something is off.
García delivers the payoff pitch and sneaks one past Swanson for the third strike. We move to the bottom of the third Atlanta up 5-0.
Meanwhile, Swanson comes to the plate for Atlanta and works the count full.
It looks as if Morton has left the Braves dugout. Perhaps that shot that he took to the leg in the last inning caused a bit of damage and it certainly looks as if he is not going to return next inning. Watch this space.
Joc Pederson steps in to face García and gets under one, Kyle Tucker puts it away in right field for out number two.
D'Arnaud takes strike three looking, and we have one away in the inning.
Jake Odorizzi is up and working in the Houston bullpen.
Yimi García will take over the pitching duties for Houston and will face Travis d'Arnaud as his first batter.
The Astros will almost certainly make a pitching change now. As is usually the case, it looks like Valdez was left in the game one batter too long.
He delivers to Duvall and it is absolutely cranked into the Crawford Boxes in left field! Another homerun for Atlanta and it is now 5-0.
Two consecutive throws over to first and it looks like Framber is stalling a bit. Maybe he's trying to give Yimi a few more minutes to warm up.
Adam Duvall takes the plate and we will see if Valdez manages to settle in.
That is definitely more pitches than Houston had hoped Valdez would pitch at this stage in the game. Maldonado comes out to have a chat with Framber.
The count runs full and Framber delivers the 50th pitch of the night, and Eddie slaps it through coverage into right for a leadoff single.
Eddie Rosario leads off for Atlanta in the third and Valdez seems to have a bit of trouble finding the control that he showed in his last outing when he pitched eight immaculate innings.
Martín hits one hard but right at Freeman for the final out. We move to three still 3-0.
Maldonado stands in 2 for 29 in the playoffs. He has had a terrible time at the plate lately but the Astros really have him in the lineup for what he does behind the plate.
McCormick comes to the plate and gets a nasty curveball that he whiffs for strike three.
Charlie Morton goes back to work on Gurriel and gets one slapped right back at him. An absolute bulled that hits Morton in the leg and bounces straight to Freeman at first for the easy putout.
Valdez gets ahead 0-2. He gets him to chase a wicked curve for strike three. Houston gets out of the inning but they have given up another run. In the middle of two, Atlanta 3 Houston 0.
Yimi Garcia is up in the Houston bullpen as Riley comes to the plate.
Ozzie Albies comes to the plate and hits to second. Altuve makes a hard throw but the speedy Albies beats it out! All runners are safe.
Men are now on first and second with two outs.
Valdez delivers the payoff and Soler is running on the pitch. Ball four.
Freddie Freeman manages to get the count to full.
Soler taps one to short and Correa elects to go to third and get Pederson for the second out. Swanson scores and we have Soler on first now with two down.
The number nine hitter Dansby Swanson comes to the plate and skies one to deep center. McCormick catches it at the wall and both baserunners tag up and advance. Second and third now with one out.
Joc Pederson comes up and goes inside out for an opposite field single. Back to back singles for the Braves and they have runners on first and second.
The second inning starts with Travis d'Arnaud and Valdez throws him all breaking balls. D'Arnaud reaches down and slaps one into right for a single.
He is very aggressive slaps it to second. Ozzie Albies gobbles it up, delivers to Freeman for the force out to end the inning. The Astros strand three and at the end of one are down 2-0.
Two outs, bases full and Kyle Tucker, Dusty Baker's professed dangerman, comes to the plate.
Braves pitching coach Rick Kranitz strolls out to talk to his man, try and calm him down a bit.
The payoff misses inside and Morton has walked the bases full.
Nothing much to swing at, and Carlos isn't biting. The count runs to 3-2 and a wild pitch moves both runners up 90 feet.
Charlie switches to fastballs and jumps on top of the count 0-2
Carlos Correa comes to the plate and this isn't necessarily much better of a matchup for Morton, but I think he will take it.
Morton loses him and we have men on first and second with two outs.
He falls behind 3-0 in the count.
Morton will deliver breaking pitches to Alvarez. He needs to be careful where he pitches this guy.
Brantley is in scoring position now with two outs. Their hottest hitter in Yordan Alvarez takes the batter's box.
The count runs 3-2 and Bregman is running with the pitch. Bregman chops it to first and the only play for Freeman is the flip to Morton covering first for the second out.
Bregman comes up and with the shift on and Brantley on first, the entire right side will get runners on the corner. If Bregman can push it that way.
Brantley comes in first pitch swinging and pokes it into right field for a single.
Oh what a great curveball! Absolutely jelly-legged Altuve and caught him looking for strike three.
Charlie Morton will pitch to Jose Altuve to lead off the bottom half of the first and quickly jumps out in front of the count 0-2.
He finally throws a sinker and Duvall pops it to the deepest part of right field where it is hauled in for the third out. We go to the bottom of the first, the Braves are up by two.
All four of those first pitches were curves
What a beauty of a curveball! The 2-1 delivery gets a huge swing and miss.
Valdez is going to his breaking pitches a little more now. Perhaps they felt that he was becoming a bit of a one-trick pony with his fastball.
Rosario whiffs a third strike and we have two down now.
Eddie Roasario comes in to face Valdez and is taking a huge swing and miss at the first pitch. The Braves are really zeroing in on Framber.
The Braves are in business! Maldonado has a little chat with Valdez to settle him down.
The 3-0 pitch to Riley and he loops it into the gap in left center! Albies scores from second and Riley is in with a stand up double.
Albies has not a great lead, but takes off! Maldonado bobbles the exchange from the mitt and makes no throw. Stolen base for Albies.
Austin Riley to hit now with one on and one out.
Ozzie Albies stand in and chops one just to the third base side of the the mound. Fielded by Valdez but the long throw is just not able to get there in time. Albies is safe at first.
Freddie Freeman hits a breaking ball into the shift and is thrown out by a centimeter at first. Oh, that was close! We have one down.
Jorge Soler is leading off and jacks one over the wall in left for a lead off home run! The Braves are up and we are only three pitches into the game.
And the first pitch comes and the World Series is under way! Ball inside
The Astros have taken the field and are warming up. The umpiring crew have given the ground rules to both managers. We are just about ready for the first pitch.
The national anthem is being sung by Keke Palmer.
Tonight's game will be played under American League rules, so both teams will have use of a designated hitter. When Game 3 shifts back to Atlanta, National League rules will be in force and the pitchers will have to bat.
Of the 52 players taking part in tonight's rosters, 17 are from outside the USA. If you include Puerto Rico, that stat rises to 20.
The Home Team
Astros Batting Order
Jose Altuve (R) 2B
Michael Brantley (L) LF
Alex Bregman (R) 3B
Yordan Alvarez (L) DH
Carlos Correa (R) SS
Kyle Tucker (L) RF
Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B
Chas McCormick (R) CF
Martín Maldonado (R) C
The Visitors
Braves Batting Order
Jorge Soler (R) DH
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Ozzie Albies (S) 2B
Austin Riley (R) 3B
Eddie Rosario (L) LF
Adam Duvall (R) CF
Travis d'Arnaud (R) C
Joc Pederson (L) RF
Dansby Swanson (R) SS
Throughout the playoffs, so many column inches have been devoted to the pitching that it is tempting to focus entirely on that element as the key to the game. Both of these teams have impressive talent in the bullpen and can rely on bringing in a great mix of speed and movement from either side of the plate in almost any situation.
Atlanta will start everyone’s favorite starting pitcher, Charlie Morton. Seriously, nobody in the world can have a bad word to say about him. He has great control and a lot of movement on his pitches, relying primarily on a sinker, a cutter, and a curveball. Look for him to generate lots of whiffs and soft contact.
For Houston, Framber Valdez will perform a similar function from the southpaw delivery. He sticks almost exclusively to a sinker that comes in clocking low 90s and a curveball with crazy movement on it. He has a changeup and a four-seamer but will only go to those as punch-out pitches when he is up in the count.
Between the two, Houston is more likely to play a bullpen oriented game, bringing on pinch hitters and getting short work out of their staff. But Atlanta can play that game too, and play it very well if they need to.
The hitting for each team is often boiled down to two incredibly hot bats; Yordan Alvarez seems unstoppable for Houston and Eddie Rosario has been a driving force behind Atlanta’s run scoring. That is not to say that the rest of the bats have been cold, on the contrary. Houston’s Yuli Gurriel, Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman have 38 hits and a .309 collective batting average in the post season. For Atlanta, Joc Pederson, Freddie Freeman and Austin Riley have hit 20 RBIs and scored 16 runs between them. Both of these teams know how to score and are willing at any moment to do anything necessary to do just that.
The past twenty years has been the epoch of Moneyball, which saw teams play the odds, play it safe, and that has been a slow decline for stealing bases, laying down bunts, and all the other fundamentals of the small-ball style of play. It is inevitable, you might say. The game has to modernize, I hear you reason. And yet, here we have two managers putting on hit-and-run plays, base stealing, playing with their instinct more than their reason in a way that hasn’t perhaps been seen since Joe Torre and Tommy Lasorda.
After a roller coaster ride of a post season, we have arrived at the Fall Classic, and the biggest twist in the tale is that the two teams that got there are the two teams that were pretty much the teams that looked destined to be here since the All-Star break. There were blips where the Yankees, Red Sox Dodgers and Giants dared to hope. But these were relatively short-lived. Both Houston and Atlanta have carved their way to tonight through steady, bull-headed consistency. What makes this series exciting is that there is nothing, absolutely nothing to separate these two. You could flip a coin and it would be just as accurate as any of the stats can get you.
Welcome to the live commentary of Game 1 of the World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros.