The Houston Astros gave it everything they had on Tuesday night as they saw their season come to an end as the Atlanta Braves took Game Six of the World Series to win their first championship in twenty-six years.
What Went Wrong
The Astros came into the World Series as the favorite to win it all, and rightfully so. Many baseball fans did not want to see the Astros, but they overcame adversity this season and made it to the Fall Classic for the third time in five years. Yes, much of that adversity they overcame was due to their omission, but most teams would have thrown in the towel, not the Astros; they embraced it.
Let’s talk about what went wrong in this series against the Braves. To say injuries were the reason would be an understatement. With the Astros losing Lance McCullers Jr in the American League Division Series and the Braves losing Ronald Acuna Jr, Charlie Morton, and Mike Soroka, both teams were pretty equal on that issue. What was the downfall for the Astros were their bats.
When Game One of the World Series rolled around, the bats went cold and silent. As we saw in the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, the Astros scored runs at the flip of a switch. Scoring runs with two outs, runners in scoring position, and using the long ball for added insurance. The top of the lineup could not seem to get anything going against the Braves pitching staff.
Guys like Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Yordan Alvarez (ALCS MVP), and Alex Bregman could not find their groove in this series. Something is off when this Astros lineup goes for a combined 2 for 28 in Game Three in Atlanta on October 29th. This is not an offense that usually gets held to two hits.
Starting pitching was also an issue in this series. When the World Series comes around, you face the best of the best, and when your starting pitching cannot make out of the fourth inning, it makes for a long series. Averaging 3.1 innings in this series, the bullpen had come in and taken the bulk of the innings, and that cannot happen. Give credit to the Astros bullpen, they came out to shut down the Braves offense when they needed to, but just by watching Game Six, you could see that the bullpen was exhausted.
Final Thoughts
The sting of losing the World Series at home will hurt for quite sometime for the Astros. The once the dust has settled, the Astros will look and be proud of their accomplishments. This season should not go down as a failure, but as a learning experience. This is team that WILL return to the World Series, and they are built to win for years to come. Congratulations again to the Braves for winning it all in 2021.
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