Atlanta went from lethargy to winning the SM

HOUSTON – The 2021 Braves didn’t finally reach a record above .500 until Aug. 8, the latest date for a club that has even made it to a World Series. And as they finished the regular season with 88 wins, it’s safe to say they took advantage of a weak division to win their fourth straight title in the NL East.

But with the acquisitions of Cuban Jorge Soler, Puerto Rican Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall and Joc Pederson, which somehow made up for the injury absence of Venezuelan Ronald Acuña Jr. — a perennial MVP candidate — Atlanta found a way to get there. in his prime to the postseason.

With this, this edition of the Braves, which crowned World Series champion Tuesday by defeating the Astros 7-0 in Game 6 at Minute Maid Park — became only the second team in history (since Wild Card implementation with three postseason rounds) to eliminate three opponents of 95 wins or more (Cardinals, 2011). Atlanta defeated the Brewers (95 regular season wins) in the Division Series, the Dodgers (106) in the Championship Series and the Astros (95) in the Fall Classic.

“They allowed themselves to do this,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, whose charges never lost consecutive games after Sept. 18. “They never gave up. They came to work every day, prepared and were consistent in their work ”.

The outfielder quartet’s impact on the Braves was undeniable. And little by little, the starting rotation and especially the relay took shape, with a “four-headed” monster of AJ Minter, Luke Jackson, Tyler Matzek and closer Will Smith.

“When they changed me here, me and the group of players they changed for, the team began to show symptoms,” said Soler, Most Valuable Player of this World Series. “We started to win a lot of close games and the team stuck. We started to win and we knew we were ready.

“Quite proud of everything that was done, of how we played. We all did our bit ”.

In fact, the renewed team became clear when Rosario (SCLN MVP) and Soler won their awards in front of Atlanta’s victories this postseason.

“Eddie turned on,” Snitker said. “The pitching was really good. I think when we beat Milwaukee in the first round … then it’s like, ‘You know what? I think we can do this. ‘ We were reaching our best level at the right time. “

– The Braves hit 11 home runs in the World Series, compared to just two for the Astros.

–Atlanta’s team became the 24th to seal a World Series with a shutout and the first since the 2005 White Sox against the Astros themselves in Houston.

With 6.0 zeros Tuesday, Max Fried is the first pitcher to throw 6.0 or more scoreless innings for his team in a game won to win the World Series since Freddy Garcia pitched 7.0 in 2005 with Chicago.

– The 2013 Red Sox are the latest team to seal a home title, winning Game 6 against the Cardinals. Since then, the visiting team has celebrated each crown on their opponent’s ground. The exception was in 2020, when the Dodgers beat the Rays in Game 6 in Arlington, Texas, the neutral venue where the Rays were officially the home team.