World Series Game 1 Recap
(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Highlights
1st Inning:
TH (Top Half) of Game 1, DH Jorge Soler leadoffs off the game with a solo home run on third pitch!! A single off the bat from Ozzie Albies & an eventual stolen base led to an RBI double from Austin Riley, making the game 2-0.
In the BH (Bottom Half) of the 1st, Altuve struck out vs Morton. Brantley singled & later avoided a double play advancing to 2B when Bregman grounded out for the 2nd out of the inning. Charlie Morton pitched around Yordan Alvarez & ended up walking him. Early on, you could tell Morton was not pleased with what he was throwing and eventually fell behind to Carlos Correa, walking him and loading the bases with 2 outs still in the inning. Kyle Tucker got a good one to hit but some flashy leather from Ozzie Albies prevents a potential run & ends the inning.
2nd Inning:
TH - Dansby Swanson sends a flyout to DEEP centerfield, advancing the runners on to 2nd & 3rd Base. A Jorge Soler ball ripped to Carlos Correa scores the runner from 3rd base, making the game 3-0 Atlanta.
BH - The Astros go down 1-2-3 vs Morton.
3rd Inning:
TH - Adam Duvall hits a 2-Run shot over Framber Valdez, ending his night after 2 short innings. Yimi Garcia came in place of Valdez and closed out the 3rd.
Valdez’ Game 1 Line - 2.0 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
BH - Charlie Morton exited the game in the Bottom of the 3rd with an apparent leg injury. Morton left after being hit with a comebacker in the 2nd inning. A.J. Minter entered the game and was able to close out the inning.
4th Inning:
TH - Odorizzi came into the 4th & struck out the side, the first time the Braves have been unable to score.
BH - Astros get on the board, a Dansby Swanson error allows the runner to score from third and make it 5-1.
5th Inning:
TH - Atlanta go down 1-2-3 again vs Odorizzi, who now has 5 K’s in 2 innings.
BH - A career high 43 pitches in place of an injured Charlie Morton gets the job done for A.J. Minter as he posts a scoreless inning vs Houston and holds them to 1 run.
6th Inning:
TH - Houston works in and out of trouble with Phil Maton leaving a runner on, in place of Odorizzi to close out the top half.
BH - Luke Jackson comes in relief of A.J. Minter & strikes out Carlos Correa. Kyle Tucker gets on base but Yuli Gurriel grounds out & McCormick strikes out to leave another runner on.
7th Inning:
TH - Ryne Stanek comes in relief of Phil Maton & continues to stifle Atlanta’s offense, holding Atlanta’s lead to 5-1 through 7.
BH - Luke Jackson gets 2 quick outs to start the Bottom of the 7th & is later pulled in favor of Tyler Matzek to face Michael Brantley. Matzek allows Brantley to get on, allowing a single but Alex Bregman strikes out the very next at bat for Houston.
At this point in the game, both teams had 14 runners left on base. Houston’s Top 6 of their lineup when a combined 3 for 16 with 2 BB & 7 K through 7 innings.
8th Inning:
TH - The Braves get their first run since the 3rd inning on a sac fly from Freddie Freeman, making the score 6-1 Atlanta.
BH - Yordan Alvarez leads off the Bottom of the 8th with a triple off Tyler Matzek. Carlos Correa grounds out, scoring Alvarez. Score is now 6-2. Gurriel later gets called out at 2nd base after getting a hit.
9th Inning:
TH - Raley goes 1-2-3 vs Atlanta in the top half, shutting down all 5 of the batters he’s faced on the night.
BH - Will Smith closes out Game vs Houston, only allows 1 walk & 0 hits.
FINAL SCORE: ATL 6 / HOU 2
Braves Lead Series 1-0
Highlights & Notes from Innings 1-5 via Matthew Hamilton
Highlights & Notes from Innings 6-9 via Jonathon Cano
News & Notes
Jorge Soler’s 1st Inning HR was the first time EVER a player homered in their first World Series plate appearance.
The Atlanta Braves became the first team in history to score in each of the first 3 innings of Game 1 of the World Series.
Braves RHP Charlie Morton suffered a right fibula fracture and will miss the rest of the 2021 World Series
Probable World Series Game 2 Starters: (HOU) RHP Jose Urquidy vs (ATL) LHP Max Fried
Stars of The Game
ATL (DH) Jorge Soler: 1-5| 2 RBI | 1 HR
ATL (OF) Adam Duvall: 1-4 | 2 RBI | 1 HR
ATL (3B) Austin Riley: 1-5| 1 RBI
HOU (RHP) Jake Odorizzi: 2.1 IP | 5 K | 0 ER | 1 H
Full Analysis
The Atlanta Braves get out to a 1-0 Series Lead in the 2021 World Series, after their offense comes alive early to give their pitching staff a lead. Soler’s 1st inning bomb & Duvall’s 2 run shot in the 3rd are the moments of the game that helped aid Atlanta’s Game 1 win. That is not to forget what Atlanta’s bullpen was able to do in wake of Charlie Morton’s devastating injury.
Through 2 innings, Morton exited Game 1 with what appeared like a leg injury at the time. But Atlanta’s worst nightmare came true with the announcement of Morton’s fractured fibula, resulting in him missing the remainder of the 2021 World Series. The Braves bullpen was able to hold Houston to just 2 Earned runs, striking out 8 after Morton’s exit. Their bullpen only surrendered 7 hits.
For Houston, they are now 0-4 in World Series Game 1’s and went absolutely cold on offense. Their main core of Altuve, Correa, Yordan & Bregman were not able to get anything going with those four combining for 7 K’s. Framber Valdez not being able to repeat his Game 5 ALCS success definitely hurts as they had to dip into their bullpen early to work in and out of some jams throughout the game. However, being that Valdez was pulled early…we might be able to see him in a relief appearance of some sort later on in the series.
Overall: Great game from the start, this World Series will definitely be a back and forth style bout with each team taking huge jabs to try and gain the advantage. And for tonight, the Braves were victorious and look ahead to Game 2.