Astros vs. Braves commentary, scores, stats and updates: World Series Game 5
Astros vs. Braves: World Series Game 5
This will conclude our live commentary, but you can follow along with live commentary on all of the World Series games, plus news and updates on en.as.com/mlb
This game really hinged on Houston's hitting and their bats were the difference in the game tonight. The Braves didn't really make many mistakes, and their five runs would have been enough to win Games 3 or 4. But when Houston needed to wake up on offense, they did.
Jorge Soler stands in and goes down swinging on three pitches. Astros win decisively and take the series back to Houston.
The payoff pitch is lined to center. Jose Siri gets on his his horse and tracks it down for out number two. We are one out away from Game 6.
Ehire Adrianza pinch hits and runs the count full.
He skies one to right and Kyle Tucker pulls it in for the first out.
Houston comes out in the same formation as eight and Dansby Swanson will lead it off.
He doesn't swing the bat and just takes the three strikes to get out of the inning. We move to the bottom of nine and it is Atlanta's last shot to end it tonight.
Graveman comes up to bat and could perhaps be the very last time that we get to see a pitcher bat in major league baseball. It is almost certain that the league will introduce the universal DH rule next season so the likes of Greinke and Ohtani may never bat again. It may be good for owners and tv rights but it is surely a grave loss to the game of baseball and we should all weep at the passing of the batting pitcher.
Martín Maldonado stands in and goes down swinging for out number two.
Bregman grounds to third and the throw is in plenty of time for out number one.
Drew Smyly will try and close this out for Atlanta, saving their bullpen for what looks to be at least one game in Houston. He faces Bregman to lead off in the ninth.
He chases a high changeup for strike three. We move to nine still 9-5
Travis d'Arnaud comes to the plate 2 for 3 on the night.
Adam Duvall grounds one to third and Bregman's throw beats him by half a step for the second out. Riley advances to second on the play.
The payoff pitch is hit high to center. Siri camps out under it and makes the catch for out number one.
Maldonado goes out to the mound to slow the tempo down.
Rosario fights his way back into the count, fouling off a few and getting a couple of balls, to work the count to 3-2.
Eddie Rosario comes to the plate and gets in a hole 0-2.
Austin Riley leads off with a shot to center for a single.
Houston makes some fielding changes bringing on Jose Siri for Alvarez, shifting Tucker to right to play Siri in center. On the mound, they bring on Kendall Graveman to try and put the lid on Atlanta.
Houston up four going to the bottom half of the inning 9-5
Kyle Tucker lifts one to left where Rosario makes the catch for the final out of the eighth.
Gurriel stands in and whacks one up the middle for a single. Houston keeping the two out rally going. Men on first and second now.
Yordan Alvarez takes three big swings and misses to sit him down for out number two.
Correa plops one into left field for a single. He has two RBIs on the evening now with Altuve scoring on the hit.
The Atlanta infield in in on the grass and shifted for Carlos Correa.
Brantley grounds to second and the Braves take the out at first. Altuve avances to third.
Michael Brantley will bat now with a runner in scoring position.
I think that it was just inconclusive. No angle was difinitive. He was probably out, but you have to go with the on field call.
SAFE
The umpires decision is...
He might be out. It is very close.
Altuve takes off on a pick move and they catch him in a rundown, miraculously he beats it to second! Altuve steals second on no pitch. The Braves want to look at this one.
Jose Altuve will lead off the eighth and singles up the middle. Astros have a man on with nobody out.
Ozzie Albies goes down swinging to end the inning. Three up, three down in the seventh. Houston goes into eight still on top.
Freddie Freeman steps up to the dish and chops a slow roller to first. The flip from Gurriel to Stanek covering makes the second out.
Soler pops one up to deep left where Alvarez hauls it in for the first out.
The bottom of seven will see Jorge Soler leading off. Houston will bring on Ryne Stanek to take over on the mound.
For the seventh inning stretch, opera tenor and Georgia native Timothy Miller sings God Bless America.
He goes chasing a low breaking ball for strike three to end the inning.
Chas McCormick up to pinch hit with a man on second.
He pulls one into left and Tucker beats the throw to the plate to score! Maldonado ends up at second on the throw.
Martín Maldonado comes to the plate with a man on second and two outs. Anything through the infield should score.
Alex Bregman skies a pop up directly over the mound. Everyone converges and Austin Riley takes the catch for out number two.
Kyle Tucker drives the first pitch into the right field corner for a stand up double.
Gurriel goes down swinging on three curveballs.
Leading off for Houston will be Yuli Gurriel.
Drew Smyly gets the nod from Atlanta to see off Houston in the top of the seventh.
He pops a high ball near the Houston dugout. Long run for Bregman and he gets there to make the out.
Joc gets behind very quickly 0-2
Brent Strom makes a visit to the mound and gives a stern lecture to Maton and the infield, on exactly what they want to do facing pinch hitter Joc Pederson.
Dansby Swanson runs the count full and then chases a high fastball for strike three. Two outs now in the inning.
Travis d'Arnaud slaps a single into left and he is now 2 for 3 tonight.
Adam Duvall leads off and gets rung up looking on a low cutter for the first out.
Phil Maton will stay in for another inning of work and will face the back half of the Braves order.
Yordan Alvarez pops one down the left field line. Eddie Rosario makes a long run to get to it and catches it on the slide! We move to the bottom of six.
Correa grounds one to short and Swanson makes the easy throw to get out number two.
Brantley rolls one to Freeman and he steps on the bag for the first out.
Michael Brantley leads off the Houston attack in the top of six.
He reaches for an outside pitch and taps it back to Maton. The easy toss to first ends the inning and we move to the sixth inning with Houston leading 7-5.
He finally swings the bat and misses a beauty of a curve ball.
Eddie Rosario will now stand in and represent the tying run at the plate.
He pokes the next one into the gap in left center for a two out double.
Austin Riley takes a big swing and a miss for the first pitch.
Ozzie Albies comes to the plate and swings at three pitches to be sat down. Two away.
Freeman swings at the first pitch and skies it to right for the first out.
The bottom of the fifth will see Freddie Freeman lead off against Phil Maton.
A big pitch! Low heat that gets Altuve to chase it for the big punch out to end the inning.
He runs the count to 3-2 and delivers the payoff pitch.
Two men are on base and two outs for Jose Altuve.
That will be the end of AJ Minter's evening. The Braves will put Chris Martin on the mound to try and get out of this mess that they are in.
Minter will face Marwin Gonzales who rips the first pitch into left field to score Tucker and Bregman. The Astros are out in front 7-5!
Minter misses and walks Maldonado! The game is tied at five.
Bregman gets the intentional walk to fill the bases and Minter will face Maldonado.
Kyle Tucker chops one to first for the putout and Gurriel and Correa both move up. Two outs now for Alex Bregman.
He hits a stinger up the middle for a single. Two men on and one out.
Yuli Gurriel falls behind 1-2.
He whiffs another and then takes a low cutter for strike three looking. One down.
Yordan Alvarez has really struggled in the last few games. He has had such a booming bat for Houston that this slump is really affecting their output. He leads off taking a huge cut at a cutter for strike one.
Correa slaps one to center for a leadoff single.
AJ Minter has been a real steady hand on the mound for Atlanta. It is hard to believe that last year he was sent down, but this post season his work has been as good as anyone in baseball.
Carlos Correa leads off the top of the fifth for Houston.
Soler chops one to Altuve behind second base and he fields it and steps on the bag for the force out to end the inning.
Jorge Soler steps up to the plate and cranks a monster shot just foul in left. Plenty of distance but he was out in front.
AJ Minter comes up and sqaures to bunt. he pops it up and Maldonado catches it for the second out.
Swanson swings first pitch and sends Tucker back in center field to make the catch on a fairly deep ball. One out.
d'Arnaud slaps one back at the pitcher and it squirts through to center for a leadoff single.
Dusty Baker turns to José Urquidy to take over in the bottom of the fourth. He will face the bottom of the order, starting with Travis d'Arnaud.
The third pitch is high cheese and Brantley whiffs it for the final out.
Minter jumps on him quickly with two strikes.
That will be it for Chavez and AJ Minter gets the call to face Brantley. How many innings can he go? Pre game he said that he was prepared to pitch eight innings!
Altuve comes up with a runner on first and one out. He skies a towering fly ball to right. Soler camps out under it and puts it away for the second out.
He has pinch hit eight times and got a hit in four of them. Incredible! This makes Greinke the first pitcher since 1997 to get a base hit in multiple World Series games.
He rips one to right field for a single. Yes Greinke, the pitcher.
And now Houston does yet another thing that makes you scratch your head. Zack Greinke is a pitch hitter.
To lead off the fourth Martín Maldonado grounds one to Albies. The throw to first is in the dirt but Freeman digs it out and gets Maldonado for one.
Duvall skies it and Carlos Correa at short hauls it in to end the inning. What a battle!
Garcia has another one fouled off and he prepares to deliver pitch twelve to Duvall.
He fouls off a couple more and takes another ball to take the count to full. This is pitch number eleven of this at bat. What a strong show from Duvall.
Duvall falls behind in the count but stays strong and fights off a couple of foul balls to work it back to 2-2.
Rosario makes Garcia nervous at first and gets the throw over to check him.
That will be it for Valdez. Dusty Baker comes out and gives his young pitcher a pat. Yimi Garcia will come out to face Adam Duvall.
Eddie Rosario has yet to swing the bat tonight, taking all the way. And this at bat is no different. He takes six pitches and draws the walk on a full count without lifting the bat off his shoulder.
Riley hits one on the ground to Correa and the throw to first gets him for the second out.
Ozzie Albies chops one on the grass in front of third. Bregman charges and barehands it and makes the throw in time to get Albies. That is an incredible play considering Albies speed. One down for Austin Riley.
Freeman runs the count full and drives the payoff pitch into the next county! He got every inch of that one! Atlanta are now back on top with a solo shot from Freddie Freeman.
Framber Valdez takes the mound for Houston here in the bottom of three to face Freddie Freeman.
Alex Bregman stand in now and takes the first two pitches for balls and then hacks the next pitch for a routine fly ball to left where Eddie Rosario puts an end to the inning. It is all square here in Atlanta a four runs apiece.
Chavez walks Tucker on four straight. Men on the corners.
Kyle Tucker comes to the plate with Correa on third and two outs.
Yuli Gurriel grounds one to short and the throw to first gets the second out, but another run scores and we have a tie ball game at four!
Yordan Alvarez comes up first pitch swinging and pops it to shallow left for the out by Rosario. It wasn't deep enough for anone to tag up.
The 3-2 is stroked into left center for another RBI double. Altuve scores easily, Brantley advances to third. Houston keeps chipping away and they are right back in this game!
He is keeping the pitches on the outside and runs the count full.
Chavez will face Carlos Correa as his first batter.
The slider misses low and Brantley draws the walk. Houston now have men on first and second and that may be all for Davidson. Brian Snitker has him on a short leash and Jesse Chavez is called upon to take the mound.
A fastball misses low and the count is now 3-1.
Davidson throws one in the dirt. Good block by Travis d'Arnaud.
Michael Brantley comes to the plate and takes a ball and a strike.
The count goes full on a low fastball. and the 3-2 delivery is swatted to short. Dansby Swanson fumbles it to allow Altuve to reach.
Jose Altuve takes two balls and then whiffs two great sliders to even the count at 2-2
The Braves stick with the rookie Davidson to start the third inning and he will face the top of the Houston lineup.
Soler grounds one to Correa and the throw in plenty of time to end the inning. Three up, three down.
We come back to the top of the order and Jorge Soler will come to the plate.
The pitcher Davidson now stands in and takes two strikes and then goes down swinging.
Swanson hits a roller to Correa and the makes the pirouette throw and gets him at first. What a great play! One down.
Houston lets Valdez ride on the mound and Dansby Swanson will lead it off for Atlanta.
Davidson throws him three strikes and the inning ends. Houston have clawed two back and we go to the middle of two.
Framber Valdez comes to the plate. Driving in that run perhaps convinced Dusty Baker to stick with him for another inning and not go with a pinch hitter.
Tucker scored from third and Bregman advanced to third from second on the play.
Davidson delivers and Maldonado hits one to deep center. Duvall hauls it in for the second out, but it is deep enough to drive in another run.
He is not a good hitter at all, although he has had a couple of clutch hits in Game 3. He works the count to 2-2
Gurriel made it home from second on that hit, Tucker advances from first to third, and Martín Maldonado comes to the plate.
Bregman rips one into the gap in right center and gets an RBI double. The Astros are on the board now 4-1.
Davidson delivers a strike and Bregman doesn't like it at all.
Alex Bregman stands in and gets two balls. Travis d'Arnaud trots out to the mound to try and calm his young pitcher down, get him back in the strike zone.
Two on and one out for Houston
Tucker fights his way back in to this count and works it to 3-2. He gets the delivery and it misses inside for ball four. That is Davidson's second walk of the game.
Houston has a mountain to climb but if their bats are on, they can definitely do it. Kyle Tucker steps in and fouls the first pitch back for strike one.
Yuli Gurriel batting tonight in the five spot loops one into center for a one out single.
Davidson will open the second inning facing Yordan Alvarez. He takes the first pitch to deep left and it is taken on the warning track by Eddie Rosario for out number one.
Travis d'Arnaud grounds out to short to end the inning, but Houston are in serious trouble here, down 4-0 at the end of one.
The crowd is hysterical. They haven't sat down for the entire first inning.
Adam Duvall comes to the dish now with two down and bases loaded. He swings first pitch. Deep to right! It is GONE!!!! A grand slam for Duvall and Atlanta have opened up big!
The Houston infield trots in to have a chat with the young pitcher, see if they can calm him down.
Rosario draws the walk on four straight pitches.
NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario comes to the plate with two men in scoring position and two outs.
Austin Riley rocks a single through to left and speedy Albies takes third. The throw is not in time and Riley advances to second on the throw. Aggressive base running!
The Braves batters are coming up aggressive to the plate. So far all have swung first and second pitch.
Ozzie Albies swings first pitch and grounds to short. They get the force out at second but Albies is too quick for the double play.
Freddie Freeman swings at the first pitch and hits it to straightaway center for an easy out by Kyle Tucker.
Soler hits a shot to third and it is too hot for Bregman! It squirts through to left for a leadoff single.
Framber Valdez takes the mound for Houston and faces Jorge Soler in the leadoff spot.
The next pitch is fouled back and the third pitch is hit directly back to the mound. They turn two to end the inning. Welcome to The Show, Tucker Davidson.
Carlos Correa checks his swing on a first pitch slider for a strike.
Davidson misses with the next three and the 3-2 delivery is low and Brantley draws the walk.
Michael Brantley takes a breaking ball strike and fouls the next one off.
Altuve chases a high fastball and pops it to shallow left. It is hauled in by Dansby Swanson for the first out.
Davidson is throwing well and his fastball is hitting 95mph. He delivers the 2-2 and it is fouled off.
Altuve takes a first pitch strike and we are under way!
The weather in Atlanta is almost perfect for October. Mid 50s and clear skies.
The Astros have mixed up their middle batting order, but the first two have been left as is. Jose Altuve will lead off followed by Michael Brantley.
The Braves have taken the field and are warming up. Tucker Davidson is getting loose on the mound and the first pitch is just around the corner.
The great Braves legend Greg Maddux is throwing out the first pitch!
The anthem is being sung by Georgia native Lauren Alaina.
Truist Park is standing room only. The Atlanta faithful have turned out in force and we are nearly ready to take the field.
The Lineups
The Home Team
Braves Batting Order
Jorge Soler (R) RF
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
Dansby Swanson (R) SS
Tucker Davidson (L) P
The Visitors
Astros Batting Order
Jose Altuve (R) 2B
Michael Brantley (L) RF
Carlos Correa (R) SS
Yordan Alvarez (L) LF
Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B
Kyle Tucker (L) CF
Alex Bregman (R) 3B
Martín Maldonado (R) C
Framber Valdez (L) P
But more than a great night on the mound, the Astros need to finally unleash those bats against Atlanta pitching. They have a lineup that is very capable of punches in bunches, it is just that through the first four games that has not translated into runs. This is a batting order that scored 31 runs in five games against Boston and 15 runs in two games agains White Sox pitching, and through the first four games against Atlanta, they have been held to only 11 runs. Houston needs to get those runs on the board if they have any hope of a win.
The Astros will turn to Framber Valdez in their hour of need. He has been in this position before when, backs against the wall in the ALCS, he pitched eight superb innings, all but shutting down the Red Sox. He has gone deep and scoreless into big games and Houston needs him to reach into the locker and do it one more time tonight.
In the event that Davidson is not able to take the game very deep, look for Drew Smyly to come in and carry the relief load. As much faith as Snitker has in his young pitcher, he will not let this game get away from the Braves early and will not hesitate to yank Davidson.
Atlanta will start rookie southpaw Tucker Davidson, who was reactivated to replace Charlie Morton earlier in the series. Davidson went down with elbow injury in June and spent the rest of the season in Triple A ball. While he didn’t need Tommy Johns surgery, he was able to make a rehab start on October 3rd. Brian Snitker has no doubts about his ability at the top level.
"He's good. Reports were really good how he was throwing, and he feels good. He did a really nice job for us when he was here the first time.”
The final scheduled game in Truist Park sees the Braves needing one game to wear the crown and Houston fighting for their playoff lives. Every game from here on out is sudden death for the Astros. If they can survive this and move the series back to Houston, you have to think that they are in with a chance.
Welcome to the live commentary of Game 5 of the 2021 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves.