Astros vs. Braves commentary, scores, stats and updates: World Series Game 4
Astros vs. Braves: World Series Game 4
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Houston are now in do or die territory. They must win all of their remaining games.
This is their seventh straight home win and it puts Atlanta one win away from taking the World Series.
He dribbles one to Freeman. The step on the bag gets the out and the ball game is over. Atlanta win Game 4!
He takes two strikes to get in a big hole.
Yordan Alvarez has walked twice today. He is Houston's last hope today.
Bregman comes in first pitch swinging and pops one up to Albies. Two outs.
Brantley strikes out looking! That is unusual from Brantley, he must have been thinking breaking ball and got the fastball.
The Braves have him shifted to right and Will Smith serves up the 2-2 delivery.
Michael Brantley will try and keep Houston's hopes alive.
The Braves bring on Will Smith to try and put the lid on this thing.
We head to the ninth now with Atlanta leading Houston 3-2
Duvall pops it to third and Bregman puts it away to end the eighth.
For the third time tonight, Travis d'Arnaud goes down on strikes. Ther are two down now for Adam Duvall.
Pressly is now at 29 pitches and Dusty Baker has got to be worried whether or not he will be available for tomorrow at this rate.
Gillermo Heredia will pinch run for Joc and the Braves have men on first and second for Travis d'Arnaud.
He is hit by the pitch, a hard breaking ball down and in that comes off his foot.
Joc is staying strong, fouling off the next two.
He fouls the next pitch back and now is in a hole 0-2
Joc Pederson will come to the plate and he gets a first pitch strike.
Riley gets the count to 2-2 and takes a big swing and misses the high fastball. One down in the inning.
As a closer, this is not what he is used to. He has thrown now 18 pitches and for a closer that is getting toward their top end.
He nearly hits Riley with a pitch. His control is going.
Austin Riley comes to the plate and gets a strike on him. Pressly makes two throws over to first, he is very worried about Albies. Rightly so.
Albies stays strong and draws the walk. He is a real threat on the bases.
Ryan Pressly stays on in the eighth for Houston and will face Ozzie Albies.
Jose Altuve jacks the first pitch to left field and Eddie Rosario gets to it for the out! That was just a foot or so shorter than the Soler shot and that was all the diffference.
Oh what a great little sinker! The bottom just fell out of it and Maldonado bit hard. Two outs now in the eighth.
The count is run full and Jackson delivers the 3-2 pitch.
Maldonado comes to the plate now. He has struggled in the series but has a hit on the night so far.
Diaz puts one in play for the fly ball to left and it is reined in by Rosario for the first out.
That is fouled off as well. Diaz is really taking this to the bitter end.
The payoff is fouled off and this at bat is now in its ninth pitch.
He holds off just on a check swing to bring the count full.
Aledmys Diaz gets behind 1-2 and fouls a couple off. Fighting to stay in there.
Atlanta bring on Luke Jackson to face Diaz to start off the top of eight.
He chases the high fastball for strike three and the Astros get out of the inning, but the damage is done. Atlanta now lead 3-2 going to eight.
Two down now in the inning and Freddie Freeman comes to the plate.
He faces Eddie Rosario to lead off and sits him down on three strikes.
Houston makes a double switch, bringing on their closer Ryan Pressly and swap Aledmys Diaz for Yuli Gurriel at first.
Dusty Baker is talking to the umpire and Javier is done.
He drives one to left and it is out of here! Back to back home runs and Atlanta take the lead!
Jorge Soler pinch hits now for the pitcher.
The 0-2 delivery and he cranks it way out in right! He levels the game at 2!
Swanson is in a spot of bother here
He chases another breaking ball and misses badly.
Dansby Swanson now comes in and chases a terrible pitch.
Duvall goes after a breakig ball and whiffs it for the third strike. One out
Adam Duvall starts off with a breaking ball strike
He will face Duvall, Swanson and a pinch hitter this inning.
In the bottom half of the seventh, Houston bring on Cristian Javier.
Yuli Gurriel skies one to right and Joc Pederson hauls it in for the final out.
Kyle Tucker takes the first pitch over the third baseman's head for a single.
Carlos Correa rolls one to third base and Riley makes a great throw across the diamond for the second out.
Alvarez hits one right at Dansby Swanson, who makes the throw to first for the out.
Atlanta will bring on Tyler Matzek to face Yordan Alvarez in the eighth.
Houston get out of a jam with minimal damage done, but Atlanta are now on the board and trail 2-1 to the Astros.
D'Arnaud gets behind and takes the last strike looking. And that is why Dusty Baker is calling the shots in Houston and not me.
Joc Pederson is given the intentional walk to load the bases. I'm not sure that I like the logic here, because yes you set up the force play, but now you have to face Travis d'Arnaud who has unquestionably the hotter bat.
Austin Riley slaps one into left to score Rosario from second! On the throw to the plate, Riley takes second base and is in there with a two-out double.
The 3-2 delivery is a high fastball and Albies can't catch up to it. Albies goes down swinging for the second out.
Albies stays disciplined and gets the full count.
Albies is now hitting from the left side of the plate.
Maton will face Ozzie Albies.
Freeman takes the payoff pitch in the dirt and he gets the base on balls. Dusty Baker comes out and takes the baseball from Raley. He will send for his ace Phil Maton to try and get Houston out of this.
Freeman takes the pitch for a second called strike. The count is full.
Raley has thrown three in the dirt after the initial strike to bring the count to 3-1
The Braves faithful have waited all night for something to cheer about and their voices are now really being heard.
Freddie Freeman comes to the plate to see if he can make something out of that hit. Rosario is the first Brave to reach second base tonight.
Eddie Rosario yanks one into the right field corner for a one-out double.
Houston will bring on Brooks Raley to face the Braves starting with Orlando Arcia who lines the first pitch to right field for the first out.
Alex Bregman taps the first pitch to short stop for the easy putout at second. We go to the bottom of the sixth 2-0 Houston.
He pushes one through past short stop for a two-out single.
Michael Brantley comes to the plate with two outs.
Jose Altuve comes in uncharacteristically taking pitches and gets rung up looking at a low fastball for a called strike three.
Martín Maldonado leads off and swings first pitch to line it to Albies for the first out.
Chris Martin will take the mound for Atlanta in the sixth.
There is no doubt at all that the strike zone is more generous for the Astros than for the Braves. Travis d'Arnaud made his feelings clear when he had a high curve called strike on him, having had that same pitch called a ball all night the other way. Atlanta has, in my opinion, a legitimate gripe about this.
Dansby Swanson stands in and gets rung up on a pitch on the outside corner.
Adam Duvall gets under one and lifts it into left field for Yordan Alvarez. Two outs.
D'Arnaud hits one to second and Altuve makes the play at first for the out.
The Astros bring in Ryne Stanek to take over on the mound and he will go to work on Travis d'Arnaud.
He pops one to left field and Rosario gets under it to end the inning.
Runners on the corners and two outs.
They give the intentional walk to Gurriel and pinch hitter Marwen Gonzalez comes to the plate.
That will go down as an error on the throw but looking at it, the throw was good. Albies should have come up with that.
Tucker is a serious steal threat. Combined with d'Arnaud's questionable arm, and he takes off. Good throw, and Albies lets it get into center field. Tucker takes third. Same play as last night.
Kyle Tucker slaps a single into center. Great swing and it sailed just out of reach of Albies.
Carlos Correa chops one to short stop and the throw is in plenty of time. Two down.
Wright gets Alvarez swinging on a great low slider for strike three.
Top of five now and Kyle Wright will face Yordan Alvarez to lead off.
Joc Pederson hits into the 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
Brent Strom gets onto the bullpen phone to make sure Stanek is ready to go.
He smacks it straight back up the middle for a single.
He fights his way back into the count and gets the 2-2 delivery.
Austin Riley gets into a hole 0-2
Albies hits a sharp grounder to short stop and the throw is in time to get the out.
Greinke will face Ozzie Albies to lead off in the bottom of the fourth
Bregman comes up aggressive and Wright turns it against him, getting him whiffing on three straight to end the inning. We go to the bottom of the fourth, Atlanta down by two.
Michael Brantley rolls one to first base and Freeman steps on the bag for the second out.
Jose Altuve comes up and crushes one to dead center! What a monster of a shot. He got that will all of the bat. Houston is now up 2-0
Kyle Wright back on the mound and gets Maldonado on the ground out.
Former President Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump are in attendance tonight for the game. Baseball knows no political boundaries and unites all Americans. In the words of James Earl Jones, "The one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time."
He hits one to second and Altuve turns two to end the inning.
Freddie Freeman gets in a hole 0-2
Rosario smacks a fastball into center field for a single.
Eddie Rosario stands in and gets a first pitch eephus! Just a full palm, 60 mph looper, for a strike.
Bottom of the third and the pitcher Kyle Wright will lead off and goes down swinging for the first out.
Greinke was not happy with grounding out but he is doing good work on the mound, so Houston will forgive him.
Wright delivers the first pitch a breaking ball, grounded to second. Albies chooses to go to first for the out to end the inning. Atlanta again escape damage.
Yuli Gurriel gets the free pass and Wright will try and deal with Greinke. Bases loaded with two outs.
Tucker grounds one to second and Albies gets the out there but the throw to first is not in time. Two outs and runners on the corners.
Kyle Tucker takes the first three for balls.
Carlos Correa jumps on the first pitch for a single to left. Now two aboard and one out.
Yordan Alvarez gets nothing to really hit and draws his second walk of the game.
Bregman pops a high fly ball just behind the bag at second. Ozzie Albies calls for it and makes the catch for the out.
Wright will face Bregman to lead off the third.
Dansby Swanson will come to the plate now. He connects to left field and Alvarez catches it on the run for the final out. At the end of two, the score is 1-0 Astros.
Duvall slaps one through the left side for a two-out single.
Adam Duvall will step in now with two outs.
Nothing is the answer, at least not this time. He goes down looking for a called strike three.
The catcher Travis d'Arnaud has homered in the last two games. What can he do against Greinke?
He chops one to second base and the throw from Correa is in time to get the out.
Joc Pederson will lead off the bottom of two for Atlanta.
This might not look like much, but it may be one of the last you ever see. The National League is looking at adopting the DH rule and with that the era of pitchers at the bat will be over.
He hits a slow roller to second and Ozzie Albies charges it and makes the throw to end the inning. Nothing doing in the top of the second for Houston, we move to the bottom still 1-0 Astros.
Now with runners on first and second and two outs, Michael Brantley comes to the dish.
Houston now back to the top of the order, and Jose Altuve hits one on the screws down the third base line. Caught by Austin Riley! What a catch!
Maldonado has had trouble at the plate this year, but he is really paid for what he does behind the plate.
Martín Maldonado lifts one into right field, it falls for a single and advances the runner to second.
He rips one up the middle for a single to center!
Zack Greinke will come up now batting in the eight spot. He is only the second pitcher to ever bat in a postition other than the nine spot in a World Series game. The other one was Babe Ruth.
Gurriel taps one to first, drawing Freeman off the bag. He flips it to Wright covering first for the first out.
Atlanta will stick with Wright for the second inning and he jumps out quickly to an 0-2 on Gurriel.
Austin Riley reaches out for a fastball low and away and taps it to center field for the easy put out to end the inning.
Albies goes down swinging for the second out.
Ozzie Albies is batting right-handed against the right-handed pitcher Greinke. Not sure what is his thought process.
Freddie Freeman lines one to center, this one dropping in for a single. Atlanta now have one out, one on.
Rosario lifts one out to center field and Tucker doesn't really have to move to bring it in. One down.
Houston veteran Zack Greinke will go to work now against the Braves lineup. Eddie Rosario will face him first.
Tucker goes down swinging on high heat. That is a big win for Atlanta, to get out of that situation giving up only one run. Houston are up 1-0 going to the bottom of the first.
The 1-2 delivery is in the dirt and d'Arnaud makes a great block to save a run coming in.
Kyle Tucker will step in with runners in scoring position on second and third. A base hit scores two.
Correa taps one to third, too shallow for a double play. Riley makes the throw to first for the out, but Altuve scores from third to open the scoring.
He will face Carlos Correa with one out and the bases loaded.
Atlanta will bring out Kyle Wright to try and get out of this mess.
Lee doesn't get it and Alvarez is walked on four straight pitches. Brian Snitker comes in and that will be it for the starter Dylan Lee. He pitched to four batters and got one out in his very first big league start. He is still on the hook for all three baserunners.
Lee misses with the first three and Yordan will definitely have the green light on this pitch.
Danger man Yordan Alvarez up now for Houston. You really don't want to give him anything to hit.
Lee throws an inch-perfect two-seamer to get Bregman swinging for the first out.
He takes the next three to run the count to 2-2.
Alex Bregman comes up swinging aggressively on a fastball for a strike.
Brantley takes a very borderline ball four. The first two batters now on for Houston.
MIchael Brantley has been a more steady hitter in this post season than Altuve. Let's see if he can move the base runner around.
Altuve swings at the first pitch, of course he does! He hits a slow roller to short stop and there is no way that throw can get him. Beats it out and has the first base hit of the game.
Dylan Lee spent this season in AAA ball after being picked up from Miami. He was activated in the postseason roster and this is his first start in The Show.
The Braves have taken the field and Dylan Lee is geting ready. The night is crisp and clear.
Get your drinks and snacks ready. We are just ten minutes away from Game 4!
Starting Lineups
The Home Team
Braves Batting Order
Eddie Rosario (L) LF
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Ozzie Albies (S) 2B
Austin Riley (R) 3B
Joc Pederson (L) RF
Travis d'Arnaud (R) C
Adam Duvall (R) CF
Dansby Swanson (R) SS
Dylan Lee (L) P
The Visitors
Astros Batting Order
Jose Altuve (R) 2B
Michael Brantley (L) RF
Alex Bregman (R) 3B
Yordan Alvarez (L) LF
Carlos Correa (R) SS
Kyle Tucker (L) CF
Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B
Zack Greinke (R) P
Martín Maldonado (R) C
Houston will field veteran Zack Greinke tonight in the starting spot and the right-handed pitcher has a more varied arsenal to choose from. The fastballer has a 4-seam, a slider and a sinker up his sleeve, as well as a curveball and changeup. Not known for overpowering speed, Greinke will look to mix it up and catch the batters guessing.
On the mound for Atlanta tonight will be Dylan Lee, who was brought up from the minors at the end of the season as a reliever, and now with Charlie Morton’s broken leg has been given the starting duties. This will be the first time in history that a pitcher gets his very first major league start in a World Series game. The left-handed pitcher will rely on his four-seam fastball, curveball and changeup and will rely on placement over speed to get the outs.
After a wet and blustery Game 3 that saw Houston bats silenced, expect Game 4 to return to a more bullpen-oriented matchup. They weather could still play a part, although not as much as it did in Game 3 where the misty drizzle made for erratic pitch placement on both sides. The rain should be blowing out of the Atlanta area and with a cool 53° forecast we could look to see a few more strikeouts tonight.
Welcome to the live commentary of Game 4 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves.