World Series Game 1 — Astros v Braves
The Visiting Braves follow their tried and trusted method, win 6–2 and perhaps set a precedent for this years “Big Dance”.
The Visiting Braves follow their tried and trusted method, win 6–2 and perhaps set a precedent for this years “Big Dance”.
It’s 1.15am on 27th October 2021 here in the UK and, via the vagaries of the time loop, 8.15pm on the evening of the day before in Houston, Texas and Game One of the 117th playing of baseball’s World Series is underway. I avoided the anthem, razzamatazz and 45 minute build up shown here in the UK as I don’t care for such things, unless it’s The Boss, Tom Petty or Prince as the half-time shows at the Superbowl. But that’s football of the American variety, and this is baseball, and I’m only here for the ball game. As a diehard LA Dodgers fan it pains me not to see the boys in Blue in the game’s premier spectacle and also known more commonly as “The Show” or as I prefer, “The Big Dance”. They were defeated by tonight’s visitors the Atlanta Braves and the “Astros” of Houston host this morning’s and previous night’s cavalcade of sporting excellence by previously defeating the Red Sox of Boston. As a Dodger Blue I don’t particularly care for the “Braves” of Atlanta and nor do I care for those “Astros” of Houston and especially since they beat my team of Blue dressed heroes in the Big Dance of 2017. So the typically English question I feel I must pose is:
Why can’t they both lose? Please?
Rhetorical questions or not, I take Houston to win in 6 games (of the best of 7) 4–2, though I hope the Big Dance goes all the way to a last night of the Proms.
After all the hype and the match ups and the over the top televisual introductions it’s “play ball” and the first inning for both sides of a regulation nine contains everything aside from an error, a hit by pitch or a double play from the regular assortment of common plays in a baseball inning. There are plenty of statistics and capitalised abbreviations such as RBI’s, BB’s, K’s, RISP’s too, and many more, but statistics bore me. I’m here for the ball game and we have two of the game’s finest on the mound with 27 year old Framber Valdez and veteran 37 year old Charlie Morton opposing each other as their team’s “Ace” and both have a surprising fastball as well as a deliciously devious curveball. The very first swing of the World Series belonged to Jorge Soler and he dispatched the small white ball over the fence for an immediate piece of baseball history as the first batter to score a Home Run in the top of the 1st Inning in a World Series with his first swing of the bat. Starting Pitcher Valdez is hit throughout the inning and has little control of his curveball. He is slugged by big hitting Austin Riley for a double, there’s an in field hit by Ozzie Albies and only a smart and near impossible play from 2nd Baseman, the brilliant and diminutive Jose Altuve, prevents the score growing by an inning ending 2–0 in favour of the Braves. The home team Astros came to bat in the bottom of the first inning and received longer counts than Buster Douglas and Mike Tyson in Tokyo all those years ago from Ace starting pitcher Charlie Morton who loaded the bases with three runners and in the process then cleared the same bases without giving up a run, giving up a passed ball in the process as well as spinning some brilliantly looping curveballs. A long, exciting first inning ended 2–0 in favour of the Braves and I grabbed some biscuits, made another mug of tea and settled in for the morning/evening.
By the end of the 3rd Inning, the hosts (Astros) trailed 0–5 and had their starting Ace Valdez hit from the game whilst the Braves veteran Morton was spinning a gem before a fractured ankle/fibula forced him to retire injured from the game. By halfway of Game One the hosts had reduced their visitors lead by 1 to 5–1 with Jake Odorizzi striking out 5 batters of the 6 faced to keep his team, the home team Astros in the game and by the traditional “7th Inning Stretch” although the score remained at 5–1, this did not tell the story of the scoreless middle innings as although the Atlanta sluggers kept slugging and reaching base, they were repelled by first a brilliant display from Odorizzi and then an inning from Phil Maton before the incredibly hot bat of Eddie Rosario and then a walked batter put paid to his night’s work. The Astros pitchers were keeping their team in the game, however the Braves were following their tried and trusted script and the one that truly defeated my Los Angeles Dodgers. 5/6 strong opening innings from a starter/opener, get in front with the sluggers, then leave the bullpen of AJ Minter (2 brilliant innings), Luke Jackson, Tyler Matzek and “closer” Will Smith to get the team over the winning line. The Braves bullpen pitched over 6 innings in total and racked up 8 strikeouts whilst giving up just 2 runs and with the Astros middle order only accumulating 8 total hits all night with Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa going a combined 13 hitless innings, the Braves game plan of getting ahead and staying ahead behind a bullpen that perhaps eclipses that even of the Dodgers worked a treat. Again.
Each side scored a further run after the “stretch” and the visiting Braves took a 6–2 victory with pleasure. It was a one sided victory, determined from the first crack of Jorge Soler’s bat from the very first swing of this perfectly set up World Series. I still have Houston in 6 games but I don’t bet so I don’t really care. There are a minimum of 3 games to go in this strange old baseball season, and a maximum of 6 if, as I predict, the Astros warm up their bats and get on a scoring run, akin to that of the visiting Eddie Rosario or Freddie Freeman. Freddie had a quiet, one hit, one walk, one run night. But that one run equates to half of the entire Astros team and therein lies the problem, and the problem the Dodgers couldn’t solve. How do you warm up the bats through such a difficult bullpen after facing 5 strong innings from the starting Ace? The Astros have to solve such a problem. Otherwise, the “Big Dance” will be over in just 3 games, and this baseball obsessed British fan wants a maximum amount of 6am finishes, and for the “Dance” to go to the biggest, one off prom night of them all, when the winner takes it all, and the losers have to secretly and furtively pack away all of their unused and now defunct “Champions” emblazoned fripperies, whilst the tickertape of celebration dances in the air and falls all around them.
See you in a few hours for Game 2!
“Take, me out to the ball game…….”
