2021 World Series: Game 1 Recap

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The Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves faced off in Game 1 of the 2021 World Series on Tuesday night, and it was the perfect start to what promises to be an incredible series.

By Zach Smith

Atlanta put their foot on the gas in the 1st inning. Jorge Soler led the game off with a home run to right field, and Austin Riley drove in Ozzie Albies to give the Braves a 2-0 lead.

Soler notched another RBI in the top of the 2nd and then Adam Duvall cranked a two-run home that had a 111.7 mph exit velocity in the 3rd. Astros starter Franco Valdez was soon pulled from the game.

The Braves became the first team in World Series history to score in each of its first three innings, and they had all of the momentum, however, things got scary for Atlanta in the bottom of the 3rd.

Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton, who was lights out in the first few innings, left the game in the top of 3rd after he suffered a right fibula fracture from a shot back to the mound.

Houston’s bats finally came alive. Kyle Tucker hit a double in the bottom of the 4th, and he eventually scored after Dansby Swanson mishandled a ground ball at short. Atlanta 5-1 at the end of the 4th.

A.J. Minter came in for Morton and delivered nearly three innings of fantastic relief. He struck out three and only gave up one run to keep the Braves ahead.

Jake Odorizzi got the job done for Houston, as he came in for a struggling Franco Valdez and struck out five as the Astros tried to fight their way back into the game

The Braves continued to quell one of the most deadly lineups in all of baseball. Luke Jackson logged five strikeouts to solidify a 5-1 lead going into the 8th.

The Braves got one more in the 8th. Dansby Swanson advanced to third after Jorge Soler’s wild infield single, and he soon scored on a sac fly from Freddie Freeman to give Atlanta their sixth run.

Yordon Alvarez answered right back with a lead off triple, and he eventually scored to make it a 6-2 game. The Astros would’ve scored another, but Yuil Gurriel was sniped on his way to second.

Will Smith closed it out for the Braves in the 9th, and he silenced the Astros bats to secure a 6-2 win for Atlanta in Game 1 of the 2021 World Series.

Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, , and Alex Bregman combined to go 0-12 at the plate. The Astros will need a much better performance in Game 2 if they want to even the series heading into Atlanta.