KEY POINTS

  • The Braves pulled off massive upsets against the Brewers and Dodgers before beating the Astros for the title
  • They had the worst odds of winning the World Series, coming in at +500
  • Jorge Soler took home MVP honors, thanks to his three-homerun performance in the World Series

The Atlanta Braves have ended a 26-year long World Series drought with a Game 6 shutout of the Houston Astros, the first of its kind since 2005 .

It was a proper Cinderella story as the Braves had the least wins of any team entering the postseason, but things came together for them at the perfect time.

Taking down the Milwaukee Brewers in four games in the League Division Series was a good start, but facing the vaunted Los Angeles Dodgers was a more important test.

Atlanta had a 3-1 lead going into Dodger Stadium for Game 5, but the five combined homeruns from Chris Taylor and AJ Pollock were just too much to overcome.

Austin Riley’s RBI single and Eddie Rosario’s three-run home run in Game 6 would seal the Braves’ World Series berth against the Astros.

Things looked bleak for them as the Astros ferociously fought back to take back Game 5 after falling behind early thanks to a 4-run score by the Braves in the first inning.

With momentum shifting towards the favored Astros, Atlanta had to put together a monstrous performance in Game 6 and they delivered off the reliable hands of Jorge Soler.

In the third inning with Braves players on first and second base, the Astros’ Luis Garcia pitched an 83mph ball right into Soler’s sweet spot, sending the ball 446 feet away for the homerun and the 3-0 lead in Atlanta’s favor.

The Braves put the pressure on with a two-run homerun from Darby Swanson, pushing their lead to 5-0.

Freddie Freeman’s fly ball at the top of the fifth allowed Soler to run all the way home from first base to add another point, before scoring his own solo-run homer right down into center field for the game-clinching seventh point.

Prior to Game 6, the Astros were 7-2 at Minute Maid Park and there was reason to believe that they would be able to rattle the eighth win, but Soler’s three-run homer was just too much to overcome.

Soler rightfully took home World Series MVP honors, becoming only the second Cuban-born player to take home the award after the Florida Marlins’ Livan Hernandez.

He also tied the franchise record for homeruns in a single postseason series with three homers across six games.

The Braves pulled off the miracle of miracles this season, despite being +500 underdogs among the four remaining teams in the playoffs.

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