Atlanta, Houston advance to next round
Freeman’s HR sends Braves past Brewers • Astros blow out White Sox • Dodger, Giants go to 5
Freddie Freeman hammered a tie-breaking homer with two outs in the eighth inning to propel the Atlanta Braves to a clinching 5-4 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Division Series late Tuesday night.
Freeman’s 428-foot blast to left-center off a slider from Brewers left-hander Josh Hader (0-1) helped the Braves win the series 3-1 and reach the NL Championship Series for the second straight season. Atlanta lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games in 2020.
“I just saw a pitch up in the zone and I was able to get a good swing on it,” Freeman said of the decisive at-bat. “There was no rhyme or reason to it. I was swinging good all game. I worked on stuff before the game, and I was able to get one out.”
He later added, “I’ve had a lot of cool moments in my career. I think it’s going to top them right here, but hopefully that’s not the last cool one and I have a couple more in these playoffs.”
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said of the Hader-Freeman matchup, “It was our best against their best, and I don’t think you regret having that situation. That’s how the game works. That’s how it’s supposed to work.”
Freeman went 3-for-5 and Eddie Rosario contributed a two-run single for the Braves, who will face either the Giants or the Dodgers in the NLCS. The San Francisco-Los Angeles NLDS is tied 2-2 after the host Dodgers won 7-2 on Tuesday night, forcing a decisive fifth game Thursday in Northern California.
Rowdy Tellez hit a two-run homer for the Brewers, who were eliminated in the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
“Like we said early on, we had a team to do some damage,” Hader said. “All we can do is just look back on what we did and how the season went, but it is what it is now.”
Tyler Matzek (1-0) pitched a flawless eighth for the Braves and fellow lefthander
Will Smith worked the ninth for his third save of the series.
Milwaukee’s Eduardo Escobar led off the ninth with a pinch-hit single to center. Kolten Wong popped up on a bunt attempt before Smith struck out Willy Adames and Christian Yelich to end it.
Astrso 10, White Sox 1
Jose Altuve slugged a three-run homer, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley each drove in two runs, and Houston booked a spot in the American League Championship Series for the fifth straight season with a trouncing of the host Chicago.
Correa delivered a two-run double in the third inning that put the Astros ahead to stay. Bregman ripped a two-run double one inning later as Houston won the best-of-five series three games to one. Brantley contributed a pair of one-run singles.
Altuve, who went 3-for-5 and scored four runs, turned the game into a laugher with his blast off White Sox righthander Liam Hendriks in the ninth. He is tied for fourth in postseason history with 19 homers.
The Astros will face the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. Houston, which has advanced to two of the past four World Series, lost in five games to the Red Sox in the 2018 ALCS.
Houston joins the Oakland Athletics
(1971-75) as the lone AL team to reach five straight championship series.
“I think we have good chemistry and some of the guys have good experience being here for five times,” Altuve said afterward. “We’re playing as a team. We’re a really good team. We’re not trying to be heroes. We’re just trying to win games.”
Martin Maldonado also had an RBI single. Brantley was 3-for-6, Correa was 2-for-4 and Yuli Gurriel was 2-for-5 as Houston racked up 14 hits.
Gavin Sheets went 2-for-4 with a homer for the White Sox, who haven’t won a postseason series since beating the Astros (then in the National League) in the 2005 World Series.
“They beat us,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “They played better. We’re disappointed.”
Dodger 7, Giants 2
Mookie Betts and Will Smith hit home runs, Walker Buehler pitched into the fifth inning on short rest, and Los Angeles forced a deciding fifth game of the National League Division Series by beating visiting San Francisco.
The first playoff series between the longtime rivals, both 100-plus-game winners this season, is even at two wins apiece, with Game 5 set for Thursday at San Francisco. The winner advances to a NL Championship Series matchup with
the Atlanta Braves, who eliminated the Milwaukee Brewers earlier Tuesday.
After taking the loss in Game 1 on Friday, Buehler (1-1) returned on three days’ rest for the first time in his career to give up one run on three hits over 41/3 innings in Game 4. He struck out four and walked two.
“I actually felt great ... probably the best I have in the second half of the year,” Buehler said postgame on TBS. “We’ll see how I feel tomorrow, but tonight I feel pretty good.”
Betts added, “I just know that when our backs are against the wall, we’ve got a guy, Walker Buehler, who’ll get us out of it.”
The Giants are trying to reach their first NLCS since 2014, while the Dodgers are trying to advance to their fifth NLCS in six seasons.
San Francisco catcher Buster Posey said, “I feel like our team and the Dodgers’ team have both been playing meaningful games for a while now. Obviously this one coming up on Thursday is the most meaningful to this point, and it should be fun.”
Giants manager Gabe Kapler, looking ahead to Game 5, said, “I’m sure it will be a lively atmosphere. It will be nice to get back to Oracle Park and have the support of our fans. We look forward to it.” (Reuters)