Freeman HR sends Braves to NLCS
Freddie Freeman hit a tiebreaking home run off Milwaukee closer Josh Hader with two outs in the eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves advanced to the NL Championship Series for the second year in a row, finishing off the Brewers 5-4 on Tuesday night.
The Braves won the best-offive Division Series three games to one, advancing to face either the Giants or the Los Angeles Dodgers with a trip to the World Series on the line.
The game was tied at 4 when the Brewers brought on Hader to make sure it stayed that way. The hard-throwing lefty struck out Eddie Rosario and Dansby Swanson, but he couldn’t get past the 2020 NL MVP.
Freeman caught up with an 84-mph slider, launching a 428foot drive into the seats in leftcenter — only the fourth homer all season off Hader, and first since July 28.
Freeman celebrated wildly on his way around the bases, and popped back out of the dugout for a curtain call as the crowd of 40,195 roared. He became the first player in franchise history to hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later in a series-clinching win, ESPN Stats & Info said.
“When Freddie hit that ball, I mean, I lost my poise. Everybody in the dugout was going crazy,” teammate Ozzie Albies said.
Will Smith pitched a scoreless ninth for his third straight save in the series, getting Christian Yelich to look at strike three with a runner on first for the final out. Tyler Matzek claimed the win with a perfect eighth. ASTROS 10, WHITE SOX 1 >> It was Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman once again.
The Houston Astros are going to the AL Championship Series for the fifth straight year. Their October-tested stars led the way.
Altuve hit a three-run homer and scored four times, and Houston eliminated the Chicago White Sox with a 10-1 victory in Game 4 of their AL Division Series on Tuesday.
“We don’t get tired of this moment,” Correa said. “They’re special, and we perform our best when October comes.”
Correa and Bregman each hit a two-run double as the Astros bounced back from Sunday night’s 12-6 loss with their usual relentless brand of baseball. Michael Brantley had three hits and two RBIs.
Next up for Altuve and company is Game 1 of the ALCS against former Astros bench coach Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox on Friday in Houston. The Red Sox eliminated Tampa Bay with a 6-5 victory in Game 4 on Monday night.
“We’re playing another good team,” Altuve said.
It’s Houston’s second ALCS under 72-year-old manager Dusty Baker, whose club got the best of Chicago skipper Tony La Russa.