Astros vs. Braves commentary, scores, stats and updates: World Series Game 6
Braves vs. Astros: World Series Game 6
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A lot of talk in the NLCS was about how the Braves with only 88 wins couldn't possibly go to the World Series. Well that is not the half of it.
The Braves pitching was nearly perfect through this series, and absolutely flawless tonight. Max Fried threw six scoreless innings and Houston could do virtually nothing with him.
He chops one to Swanson, the throw to first and that is the game! The Atlanta Braves win the World Series 4 games to 2.
Yuli Gurriel comes to the plate representing the last available lifeline for the Astros season and hopes. Or if you are a Braves fan the final obstacle to their first World Series in twenty years.
He lifts a high one to left. Taken on the warning track for out number two.
If it is going to wake up, now would be the time.
Yordan Alvarez comes to the plate, his booming bat has been cold the past few games.
Correa knocks it to right center and Adam Duvall hauls it in for the first out.
He pokes one through to right field for a single. Carlos Correa will step up to the plate to see if he can turn that into anything.
Michael Brantley leads off for Houston
The Braves just need three outs to be crowned champions. They bring on their closer Will Smith to try and slam the door on the Astros.
Eddie Rosario steps in with two outs and he chops one to Gurriel at first. He steps on the bag and we move to the bottom of the ninth with Houston trailing by seven.
Dansby Swanson slaps one directly to Correa for out number two.
He floats one out to center for Kyle Tucker to put away for out number one.
Yimi Garcia will take the mound for Houston and will face Travis d'Arnaud to lead off.
The Astros came into tonight the hottest bats in baseball. They have put up awe inspiring numbers, especially with two outs, all season long. And Matzek just struck out four of them, three looking.
Altuve gets the count to 1-2 and then takes a beautiful off speed pitch on the outside half of the plate for a called strike three to end the inning. Unbelieveable!
The payoff pitch rings him up on a great pitch. Perfectly placed off speed at the bottom edge of the zone. Two down for Jose Altuve
He fouls off a high pitch to run it full.
Marwin Gonzalez will step in now and he takes the first four pitches to run the count to 3-1.
He gets behind and takes a called strike three. Slider up in the zone. Diaz doesn't like it at all but it caught the top of the zone. One away.
The bottom half of the eighth and Houston will bring up Aledmys Diaz to see if he can get something started against Tyler Matzek.
Albies pops one into center field for the final out.
Ozzie Albies comes to the plate 2 for 2 with a walk on the evening.
Joc Pederson slaps one to Yuli Gurriel who steps on the bag for out number two.
Houston bring on closer Ryan Pressly to try and stem the bleeding in the eighth. Adam Duvall leads off with a bloop into right center. Both Siri and Tucker are racing for it and collide, with Tucker making the catch! One away.
It is not to be, Bregman goes down on strikes and the Astros strand one. We move to eight Braves 7 Astros 0
Alex Bregman now with Alvarez on and two away looking to start something. Houston have made an artform out of the two out rally this season. They sure could use some of that now.
Kyle Tucker rips one into right center and Joc Pederson makes an outstanding diving catch! Two away.
Yuli Gurriel lifts one into deep right and Joc Pederson camps out underneath it for out number one.
Alvarez rips one into left for a leadoff single.
The Braves bring on Tyler Matzek to face Yordan Alvarez in the bottom of seven.
Austin Riley works the count full and then goes down looking at a great off speed pitch to end the inning. We go to the bottom of the seventh, Houston chasing Atlanta 7-0.
Freeman goes with a solo shot and the Braves are up 7-0!
Freddie Freeman will step up now with two outs and takes one to the deepest part of the park and it is GONE!!!
Jorge Soler comes to the plate and takes the count to 2-2 before banging one on the screws down the third base line. Bregan grabs it and makes the long throw to get Soler by half a step. What a play by Alex Bregman!
Eddie takes a hack at a high ball for strike three and we have one away.
Ryne Stanek will face Eddie Rosario to start the seventh.
He gets the count to 3-2 and the payoff delivery is a swing and a miss, but the ball gets away from d'Arnaud! He races to the backtop and guns it to first to make the tag out and end the inning.
Carlos Correa will try and make something happen for Houston now
Michael Brantley rolls one past second. Dansby Swanson with a diving stop, but the throw from his knees is not in time. Brantley is on with an infield hit with two outs.
Altuve pops one just behind second for the second out.
The Astros fans will blame the home plate umpire for a lot of the damage done tonight, saying that the strike zone is inconsistent. But it has been consistent, the zone is perhaps slightly expanded to the bottom, but it has been the same for both teams. And working with the same type of calling, the Braves have put up si runs.
Maldonado goes down looking for the first out.
Atlanta are sticking with Max Fried and he faces Martín Maldonado to lead off the bottom of the sixth.
This time he hits a one-hopper to Correa and the throw to first gets him to end the inning. Middle of six and we are still 6-0.
Swanson smashed one into the next county his last trip to the plate.
D'Arnaud chases a 93mph fastball up and in for strike three. Two down now for Dansby Swanson.
Houston have Ryne Stanek up and working in the bullpen
Ozzie Albies comes out first pitch swinging and loops one into right for a single. Duvall advances to second with one out for catcher Travis d'Arnaud.
Joc Pederson hacks one into right field for out number one.
Duvall squirts one into centerfield for a leadoff single. It went directly to where the second baseman should stand, but the Astros were in a heavy shift to left and there was a lot of space over there.
The count runs to 3-2 and Maton delivers the payoff pitch.
Phil Maton will face Adam Duvall to lead off the sixth
Jose Siri pops one up to Joc Pederson to end the inning. Three up, three down, and we move to six.
The payoff is another low called strike. Bregman doesn't like it at all, but the umpire has been giving that pitch, and to both teams, all night. You just can't afford to sit on that.
Bregman shows a bit more discipline and takes the count full
Until Houston learns to work the pitcher, make him earn his outs, they are just allowing him to stay fresh much longer than he should.
To prove my point, on the fourth pitch, Tucker chases a slider in the dirt for strike three.
Max Fried starts off the bottom of the fifth against Kyle Tucker having thrown only 40 pitches so far, and if you ask me, that is a huge part of the difference here tonight.
Riley reaches for one and knocks it to the warning track in center. Siri hauls it in for the final out. The Braves strand one but score three, all three walks that came back to bite the Astros.
Maton faces Austin Riley and jumps out ahead 0-2
That knocks Taylor out of the game and Houston brings on old faithful, Phil Maton, to cap this gusher off.
Freeman skies one to center and Siri can't get to it! It comes off that high wall for a double. Another run scores for Atlanta! Soler scores for the Braves to make it 6-0
Freddie Freeman comes to the plate and works the count to 3-1
Taylor delivers the fourth and it misses as well, to offer up a walk with two outs.
Jorge Soler comes up and takes three straight balls.
Eddie Rosario taps a slow one back to the mound and the toss to first gets the second out of the inning.
Houston bring on lefty Blake Taylor to try and dig them out of this hole.
A two run shot puts the Braves up 5-0 and Javier is done for the night.
Atlanta are filling Crawford Street with souvenir balls.
Swanson puts a bullet to nearly the same spot as the previous home run!
Dansby Swanson comes up to see if he can push Albies around the path.
A 95mph fastball down the middle gets him swinging for strike three. One down now.
D'Arnaud now gets the 2-2 with a man in scoring position.
Javier is very aware of Albies speed and checks him before throwing a high pitch that squirts out of Maldonado's glove. Albies advances to second.
Albies is always a steal threat at first as Travis d'Arnaud falls behind in the count 1-2
Altanta are doing a better job of working the Astros pitchers. They are fighting off pitches and patiently taking balls. Each at-bat is six or seven pitches and very little first pitch swinging.
The payoff pitch misses high and Albies draws the walk.
Albies stays strong in there and works the count full
Javier goes back to work for Houston in the top of the fifth against Ozie Albies.
Until these Astros slow down, make Fried pitch a few more pitches, take counts deeper, then they will have a difficult night. I know that they want to be aggressive but Fried is a bonafide starting pitcher. You have to make him throw fifty or sixty pitches before he gets off his stride.
Yuli Gurriel does likewise and taps the first pitch to Albies for a routine putout at first to end the inning.
Alvarex comes up first pitch swinging and Albies scoops it up to turn the double. 4-6-3 for two outs.
Correa lifts one into center and the ball falls in for a lead off single.
It has been working well for him. He jumps out in front and then comes back with low inside heat to punch them out.
He is staying off speed and keeping the ball away from the right handed batters tonight.
Max Fried will go to work in the bottom of the fourth and will face Carlos Correa to start it off.
Joc Pederson chases a low slider for the third strike to end the top half of the fourth.
He lifts a floater out to center field for Jose Siri and the Braves have two outs.
Adam Duvall will step up to the plate and gets into a quick hole 0-2
Leading off for Atlanta is Austin Riley and he goes down swinging on three strikes for out number one.
Houston brings on reliever Cristian Javier to take the mound in the top of the fourth.
MIcheal Brantley chops it back to the mound and they turn the 1-6-3 double play to end the inning. We move to four, Atlanta leading 3-0
The second one is lifted to center for Adam Duvall. One away.
Jose Altuve comes up first pitch swinging, as is his custom, and fouls it off for strike one.
Fried goes to work and Maldonado chips one into center for a lead off single. He is by a long way the worst hitter on the Astros team, so this is a bit of a signal that Houston won't take this lying down.
Martín Maldonado will lead off the Astros in the bottom of the third.
Freddie Freeman goes after the first pitch and grounds out to second to end the inning. The Astros are once again chasing a Braves lead.
Luis Garcia's night is over. The Astros make the pitching change and bring on Brooks Raley to close out this inning.
A three run shot to open the scoring for Atlanta.
He blasts one into the parking lot! That was gone the moment it was hit. Anything that flies that far ought to have a stewardess on it!
Another foul ball and Soler is using up a lot of pitches here. There have been eight balls in this at bat.
The count goes full and the payoff delivery is ripped foul.
He holds off the next three and works the count to 3-1
Soler comes up aggressive and hacks at a breaking ball outside for strike one.
Maldonado trots out to the mound to have a chat with his pitcher. Brent Strom joins them. A little discussion of tactics. Raley is up in the Astros pen and you know that Dusty Baker will have his pitchers on a short leash.
Rosario gets ball four and we have runners on first and second with two outs now for Jorge Soler.
Garcia is so worried about Albies that he throws three straight balls.
Eddie Rosario will now stand in with two out and Albies at first.
Hit and run is on and Swansby hits it to the warning track in left. It is brought down by Brantley and Albies has to scurry back to first.
Dansby Swanson now will see if he can push the base runner along.
A soft fly ball to center is the result and the first out is recorded.
Garcia gets ahead of d'Arnaud 1-2
Albies is fast enough to steal, but with Martín Maldonado's cannon of an arm, I don't know if that would be a good idea.
Now the catcher Travis d'Arnaud will come to the plate. He has been solid with the bat through the series.
Albies streaks one through the infield for the first base hit of the game for Atlanta.
Both pitchers are working through the orders on low pitch counts. That last one was the 23rd delivery from Fried and Garcia will start the third inning delivering his 21st pitch to Ozzie Albies.
Jose Siri steps in and lifts one to shallow left for the third out.
Alex Bregman lifts a long ball to right, down the line and Joc Pederson makes the play right at the edge of the netting for out number two.
Tucker chops one over the mound. Swanson charges and barehands it to make the quick throw and gets him by half a step. Tucker is one of the fastest runners in baseball, leads the Astros in stolen bases, so that is an amazing play by Dansby Swanson.
Fried faces Kyle Tucker to lead off the bottom of two. He is still leaning on his fastball and his ankle seems to have suffered no great damage on that play at first.
Joc Pederson lifts one out to Michael Brantley in left for the final out. We go to the bottom of two scoreless.
He rips a shot down the third base line, but Alex Bregman stabs it deep on the dirt. A rocket throw across the diamond gets the second out easily.
Adam Duvall will stand in now.
Riley has a real weakness for low breaking balls. He chases three of them to strikeout. One away.
To lead off the sencond inning, Garcia will go to work on Austin Riley.
We end the first inning still scoreless here in Houston.
Fried is keeping the balls down in the zone and getting a favorable call to ring up Gurriel on three 98mph fastballs.
He dribbles one to second and Albies takes the sure out at first. The runners advance to second and third with two outs for Yuli Gurriel.
Yordan Alvarez up to see if he can drive in a run.
Fried gets out in front and throws a hard cutter down and in for a swinging strike three. One down.
The replay shows Fried had his foot stepped on and neither he nor Brantley actually tagged the base.
Brantley taps one to first and Fried covers first. There is a collision and Fired goes down! Brantley is safe!
Michael Brantley stands in with Altuve a real running threat on first.
Altuve swats one past Riley at third, it is covered by Swanson but the long throw is too much for him and Altuve reaches on an infield hit to lead off for Houston.
Max Fried will take the mound for the Braves going to work on Jose Altuve.
On three straight fastballs, Freddie goes down swinging. Unbelievable start for Luis Garcia.
He kept the balls low and away and worked the count full before throwing a slider to get Soler to chase for strike three. Two down here for Freeman.
His first breaking ball is delivered in the dirt for ball one.
Jorge Soler fouls two back and is in a hole quickly. Garcia so far has thrown nothing but heat.
Rosario lifts it into right field and Kyle Tucker breaks into a run and dives for the grab! One away.
Garcia jumps out in front 0-2 on the foul ball.
Eddie Rosario takes a fastball strike to get the game under way!
They young Venezuelan has one of the most unique deliveries that you will see in baseball. Rock the baby, salsa, salsa, and GO!
The Astros have taken the field and Luis Garcia is getting loose on the mound.
We are just ten minutes away from the start of Game 6 here in Houston. The improbable series just keeps delivering.
The Lineups
The Home Team
Astros Batting Order
Jose Altuve (R) 2B
Michael Brantley (L) LF
Carlos Correa (R) SS
Yordan Alvarez (L) DH
Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B
Kyle Tucker (L) RF
Alex Bregman (R) 3B
Jose Siri (R) CF
Martín Maldonado (R) C
Starting Pitcher: Luis Garcia (RHP) ERA 7.62
The Visitors
Braves Batting Order
Eddie Rosario (L) LF
Jorge Soler (R) DH
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Austin Riley (R) 3B
Adam Duvall (R) CF
Joc Pederson (L) RF
Ozzie Albies (S) 2B
Travis d'Arnaud (R) C
Dansby Swanson (R) SS
Starting pitcher: Max Fried (LHP) ERA 5.40
At the bat, pinch hitter Ehire Adrianza has been placed on the paternity list, so any pinch hitting tonight must fall to his replacement Johan Camargo. Unlike, the injury roster where players can only be reactivated between series, players on the paternity list can return at any time, so Adrianza could return if we should go to a Game 7.
The Braves have an altogether more straightforward proposition in starting Max Fried. He is working on full rest, since Brian Snitker worked his entire bullpen in Game 5 to avoid bringing Fried on. He is a fantastic low-baller and tends to force the ground balls and as a true distance starter, can settle in to a game the longer he works.
The Astros will hand Luis Garcia the starting duties, working on short rest after a relief outing in Game 5. The Houston bullpen is very depleted and have had to carry much of the load to get the Astros this far. As in Game 5, tonight is a do-or-die situation for Houston and if they are to force a seventh game, their bats have got to show some of the heat that we saw in Atlanta.
With play moving back to Houston’s MInute Maid Park, we see the return of the designated hitter for tonight’s game. The shorter distances to the outfield fences mean that we should see more long balls and higher scoring as well. During the first two of the three games played in Truist Park, Astros bats seemed to have gone cold only to awaken with a vengeance in Game 5. Some of the long outs that Houston batters hit in Atlanta, would have been home runs in any American League field, so perhaps they weren’t so cold after all.
Welcome to the live commentary of Game 6 of the 2021 World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros.