The Braves are one victory from clinching the World Series title. They rallied late to stun the Astros 3-2 on Saturday at Truist Park, taking a commanding 3-1 series lead.
They could close out the World Series in front of their fans Sunday night. Before then, here are five takeaways from Saturday:
1. In the seventh inning, there were two swings heard around the South. Shortstop Dansby Swanson smacked a game-tying home run off Cristian Javier. Pinch-hitter Jorge Soler followed with a shot over the left-field wall, resulting in the first lead change of this World Series.
Swanson sputtered for much of the postseason, hitting 11-for-47 (.234) with one extra-base hit and an RBI over 13 games entering the game. The Cobb County native awakened with his dream moment, tying a World Series game with a late home run.
Swanson credited his girlfriend, soccer star Mallory Pugh, for the home run. She arrived in Atlanta on Friday night and called his homer.
“I don’t know if you can really sum it up,” Swanson said. “I just know that God’s blessed me so much to be here, getting traded here (from Arizona). It was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, to be able to be back home and to be able to play for this city and to just grow this community. That moment, it means a lot. It really does.
“I have family here at the game. I have my best friends that I grew up with here at the game. It’s a special moment, and it’s really hard to put into words. So hopefully, we can talk after some celebration. The attitude, I feel like kind of what we said. We know that nothing’s done, nothing’s over. We’ve obviously learned that lesson before. We just got to go out and compete, and I feel like that’s the biggest motto for this team.”
Soler, meanwhile, was hitting .192 with the Royals until he was traded to the Braves during the team’s busy trade deadline. He’s made several key contributions since joining the Braves. He’s the second player in franchise history to hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning or later of a World Series contest, joining Eddie Mathews (Game 4, 1957). His go-ahead pinch-hit blast was the fourth such home run in World Series history, following home runs by Ed Sprague (1992 against the Braves), Kirk Gibson (1988) and Dusty Rhodes (1954).
“At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t part of this team,” Soler said. “The organization traded for me. Obviously, I’m grateful to be here. It truly means a lot to be able to be here with this group of guys.”
2. It was the third time in World Series history that back-to-back homers were hit as game-tying and go-ahead shots. The others: Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in 1928, Game 4; Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager in 1981, Game 5.
“Baseball’s been around a long time, and for this to be the third time is pretty special,” Swanson said.
3. Kyle Wright will remember Saturday for the rest of his life. After opener Dylan Lee faced only four Astros, Wright inherited a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first inning. He limited the Astros to one run.
“Kyle Wright was the reason we won the game,” manager Brian Snitker said. The manager continued, lauding Wright for his development while spending the season in Triple-A.
“He’s been through a lot in a young career, and we’ve created a lot of it, quite honestly,” Snitker said. “I thought the best thing -- and I think I said this earlier -- the best thing was for him to stay in Triple-A all year and amass innings and pitch and be successful.
“The greatest thing these guys can have is experience. I don’t care where it is, especially as a pitcher. I think we asked a lot of him in his young career, and I love the fact he got to stay down there all year, and he put together a really good year. For me, tonight, I saw that. It was a more mature pitcher because he’d experienced more.
“I went back and looked at some of the at-bats on that thing we got, and his stuff was good. It was live. What he did coming in in that situation, limiting damage, and getting us to where he did in that game was huge.”
Wright covered 4-2/3 innings. He had a base runner in every inning. But the Astros went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position against Wright, who was charged one run on Jose Altuve’s solo shot. Wright allowed five hits and walked three.
“I feel like I just try to do my part,” Wright said. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs this year. Just to be able to get back in a position where I could help the team was definitely pretty special. My goal was just to get it to the back end, and those guys have been nails all year. Fortunately, I was able to do that, and they shut it down from there.”
After Wright, Chris Martin, Tyler Matzek, Luke Jackson and Will Smith held the Astros to two hits over four scoreless innings.
4. Left fielder Eddie Rosario is known for his bat, but he made an eye-popping catch to end the eighth. Altuve laced a liner to left, where Rosario backhanded the catch on the move. Soler said the play was out of a movie.
“I feel right now I am Super Rosario,” he said. “I didn’t see the ball. I threw the glove and caught the ball. Everybody’s happy. I’m happy. It’s unbelievable what I did tonight. Wow, what a catch.”
5. The Braves are here because of their home success. They clinched the National League East, their NL Division Series and the NL Championship Series at Truist Park, where they’ve won 12 of 13. They’re 7-0 at the venue this postseason. An 8-0 mark would make them champs.
Stat to know
1 (The Braves are one win from their second championship since moving to Atlanta).
Quotable
“It still sends chills down my spine when they start going crazy. It’s a beautiful city. I love this place, and I’m just thankful that they have our backs.” – Swanson on the fans
Up next
The Braves will try to win the World Series on Sunday in Game 5. They’ll pitch another bullpen game. The Astros will start left-hander Framber Valdez, who surrendered five homers on eight hits in Game 1.
