Game 6: Braves 7, Astros 0

Nov. 2, 2021; Houston

The Braves clinch their first World Series championship since 1995. Jorge Soler hits a mammoth three-run homer in the third inning. Max Fried makes it all stand up with six dominant scoreless innings. Soler, acquired in the final hours of the trade deadline from the Kansas City Royals, singlehandedly outhomers the Astros in the Series, 3-2, but none are bigger than his thirdhitting blast. Soler gets ahead 3-1 and hits an 83 mph cutter over the left field wall, over the Crawford boxes, and over the train track. The homer is officially estimated at 446 feet.

It is all that Fried needs. Fried suffocates the Astros lineup, not permitting a single base runner to reach second base after the first inning.

Yet, for a scary moment, it looks like Fried might not even get out of the first inning. He gives up an infield single to leadoff hitter Jose Altuve, and then Michael Brantley hits a slow roller to the right of Freeman.

Freeman picks it up, but Fried is late covering. When Fried catches the ball, he misses the bag, and Brantley’s left foot comes down hard on Fried’s right ankle, spiking him. Fried, facing the heart of the order with two runners on, no outs and a screaming sellout crowd, exhales and calmly strikes out Carlos Correa, induces a soft groundout by Yordan Alvarez and strikes out Yuli Gurriel. The Astros never really threaten again.

Quotable: “That’s something analytics never can have a hand in ... chemistry and getting along with each other. We legitimately love each other in that clubhouse. We say it out loud.” – Braves reliever Will Smith