Braves show Astros they can swing the bats, too

HOUSTON — We know all about Houston’s lineup of longtime All-Stars and postseason standouts. That’s why there will be much fretting about what the Braves will do without right-hander Charlie Morton for the rest of the World Series. No doubt the Braves will have to dig deep into their pitching staff to hold down Houston’s powerful offense.

But Game 1 of the Series showed that Houston has a similar problem.

What will the Astros do after the Braves beat up their best available starter for a 6-2 victory? How will the Astros hold down a lineup that’s missing its biggest star, Ronald Acuna but keeps cranking out runs with a solid collection of hitters around Freddie Freeman? Can Houston find enough effective pitching to handle all those threats?

This game wasn’t about hot-hitting Braves outfielder Eddie Rosario carrying the lineup. He was so good during the National League Championship Series that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had to admit his pitchers just couldn’t get Rosario out no matter what they tried. There is little chance that Rosario, the MVP of the NLCS, will be as good in the World Series.

Thing is, Rosario doesn’t have to be great for the Braves to win it all.

The Braves have leadoff man Jorge Soler back full time after COVID-19 protocols limited him to two plate appearances against the Dodgers. The Braves can reasonably expect more from hitters in the bottom of the order who didn’t do much in the NLCS. And look what happened in Game 1.

Soler homered on the third pitch he saw from lefty Framber Valdez before Austin Riley doubled to score Ozzie Albies. No. 7 hitter Travis d’Arnaud singled to begin the second inning and scored on Soler’s fielder’s choice. No. 6 hitter Adam Duvall hit a two-run homer to put the Braves ahead 5-0 in the third inning.

“We swung the bats well early, and doing that on the road early and getting the first at-bat jitters out of the way, that’s big,” Duvall said.

All nine Braves batters had at least one hit and six of them scored runs. The Braves belted two homers, but neither was by top power hitters Freeman, Riley or Albies. This was the blueprint for how the Braves can win the Series even with their pitching thinned out.

Going up 5-0 on the Astros early was important. The Braves are slight underdogs in this series but showed right away that they mean business.

Said Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud: “Everybody knows what it’s like growing up dreaming of playing in the World Series. I feel like everyone was anxious when the game started. Soler put us up 1-0 and allowed everyone to relax and breathe.”

The importance of that early lead increased when Morton tried to keep pitching on the injured leg but couldn’t. He left the game for good after striking out Jose Altuve to begin Houston’s third inning.

A.J. Minter entered the game with the 5-0 lead. He allowed one run over 2-2/3 innings: Shortstop Dansby Swanson booted a potential double-play ground ball with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Freeman added a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.

The Astros could muster only one run over the final five innings. The two runs scored were well below their standard. The Astros led MLB in runs scored during the regular season. They’d been even better in October. Houston scored 31 runs in four games against the White Sox in an American League Division Series. The Astros scored 36 runs over six games in the AL Championship Series against Boston.

In the first two playoff rounds, every Houston player with at least four at-bats got a hit. Seven different Astros hit a total of 13 homers. Houston cranked out 15 doubles. It wasn’t just power: Houston drew 38 walks in those eight games while posting a .353-on base percentage.

Add in the postseason success for Houston’s key hitters, and it’s clear why its offense gets so much attention. But Braves hitters one-upped them in Game 1.

“It’s rare when the opposing team out-hits us,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said.

Valdez got roughed up in his first two appearances this postseason. Then he limited the Red Sox, a good-hitting team, to a run over eight innings in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park. Valdez was Houston’s most effective starter in ALCS, and Lance McCullers (forearm) is out for the World Series.

That’s why Baker called on Valdez to start Game 1 of the Series. Soler and Duvall pounced on Valdez, who normally doesn’t allow many fly balls. It could have been worse for Valdez: Duvall and Dansby Swanson just missed on fly balls that died at the warning track with runners on base.

The Astros are set to start right-hander Jose Urquidy in Game 2. In Game 3 of the ALCS, the Red Sox got to Urquidy for six runs (five earned) over 1-2/3 innings. That’s his only appearance this postseason. Urquidy made six starts after a stint on the injured list and compiled a 4.25 ERA while averaging less than five innings per start.

Before Tuesday’s game, Urquidy was asked how many innings he can give the Astros in Game 2.

“It’s been a little while since I’ve gone that deep in a game, seven innings, but God willing, I’ll do whatever I can to help the team out, and I’ll be as ready as I can be to go deep in the game,” Urquidy said.

Then Urquidy saw up close what the Braves can do with their bats. The Braves will need to find a way to handle Houston’s lineup over the Series, but the Astros will have to do the same with the Braves’ hitters.