World Series Game 1: Atlanta Braves 6-2 Houston Astros – as it happened!

Well, the Braves lose an ace but get a key win on the road as their bullpen held the lead, stifling a potent Astros lineup. We’ll see what Braves manager Brian Snitker does to replace Morton on the roster: losing a key piece of the rotation hurts of course, but that loss feels a bit better after a dominant win all around. We’ll have more World Series coverage tomorrow with game two, but for now, wherever you are, good morning, good evening or good night.

Altuve grounds to short: Swanson to Albies for one, then the throw to first is not in time.

Two down now for Brantley, one of the only Astros to hit well tonight. He grounds hard to second: Albies loses it momentarily, picks up the ball, throws it to first, in time and that’s the ballgame!

The Braves take a 1-0 World Series lead.

Braves 6-2 Astros, bottom 9th

Castro grounds to second and Albies throws to short for the out. One down on the FC, and now it’s Altuve with one out and one on.

Braves 6-2 Astros, bottom 9th

Will Smith, not that Will Smith, or that Will Smith, but that Will Smith, is in to close for Atlanta. Aledmys Diaz pinch hits for McCormick and hits a screamer down the left field line that is foul by one seat!

So instead of cutting the Braves lead to three runs, he battles Smith and it’s a 2-2 count. The sixth pitch of the at-bat is inside and the count is full.

Next pitch is outside, even though it looked like a strike, and that’s a lead off walk. Lead off walks are never, ever good.

Here’s Castro.

Braves 6-2 Astros, top 9th

Duvall strikes out and we go to the bottom of the ninth!

Braves 6-2 Astros, top 9th

Rosario grounds out to third. Two down. Here’s Duvall.

Braves 6-2 Astros, top 9th

Austin Riley hits it about 365 feet off Raley to left but it’s just a loud out. One down, here’s Rosario.

Loved the Jays this year. They were way better than Boston and the Yankees and maybe even the Rays. Instead they didn’t make the playoffs. Bah!

Braves 6-2 Astros, bottom 8th

Guriell pounds a ball off the top of the wall in left - Rosario plays it off thee wall and fires into Albies at second to nail Guriell! Wow! Perfect execution on the relay throw by the Braves who are making plays tonight!

It’s being reviewed but he’s out. That ball just missed being a home run, falling just below the yellow line. FOX TV in the US says it would be a homer in 28 ballparks but not in Houston.

Instead, it’s inning over.

Braves 6-2 Astros, bottom 8th

Tucker, who doesn’t wear batting gloves and probably pees on his hands to toughen them up, is down in the count 0-2 before swinging at a fastball up and away for out no2.

Here’s Guriell with two down and nobody on.

Full count to Correa, who is hanging in against the tough lefty.

He chops to second - Albies has it, throws to first for the out while Alvarrez comes around to score. The Braves will take that any day of the week. One down for Tucker.

Braves 6-1 Astros, bottom 8th

So as I listen to my wife clip her toenails in another room, the Astros come to bat trying to trim a five-run lead. Matzek is back to face the enormous Yordan Alvarez.

Alvarez scorches a ball off the wall in center! It’s a leadoff triple for Houston as they try to get something, anything going in the eighth.

Correa is next.

Freeman pops to very shallow right and Swanson is gonna tag! Here comes the throw and Swanson slides just beyond the reach of Castro - safe!

That’s a good tack on run, thanks to good base running this inning from Atlanta.

The inning ends after Albies grounds out on a force to second.

Braves 5-1 Astros, top 8

Swanson walks, then Soler has what seems to be an “excuse me” check swing towards second - Stanek comes off the mound, he can’t handle it - Soler is safe and Swanson heads over to third! Yikes!

So now Freeman is up with runners at the corners and one out.

That’ll be all for Stanek and Brooks Raley is heading in to try and keep the Houston deficit at four runs.

Braves 5-1 Astros, top 8

As FOX TV in the US talk about the Braves retooling of the outfield for the 700th time tonight, Pederson steps in to face Stanek. He grounds deep into the hole at second, and Altuve makes a good play on the grass to get Pederson just in time.

One down, here’s Swanson.

Braves 5-1 Astros, bottom 7

Wow! Matzek throws a breaking ball that freezes Bregman for strike three and just like that, any hopes for Astros runs in the seventh evaporate.

The Braves are six outs away from getting one on the road in the World Series.

Braves 5-1 Astros, bottom 7

Matzek is the headliner of the Braves bullpen, a dominating lefty, usually at least. Here, Brantley slices a single to left, and so Houston have a two out opportunity with Bregman, 0-3 with two k’s tonight, heading to the plate.

Braves 5-1 Astros, bottom 7

Altuve can’t touch Jackson’s curveball and he’s gone! So is Jackson: Snitker comes in to get him and here comes Matzek. Last time we saw Matzek he was busy eating the faces off the Los Angeles Dodgers in two, late key innings of NLCS game six.

He’ll face Brantley with two outs and nobody on.

Braves 5-1 Astros, bottom 7

Jackson gets the pinch-hitting Jason Castro, in for Maldonado, to ground out softly to first and it’s quite quiet in Houston.

Maybe Jose Altuve can do something about that.

Seventh inning stretch

Braves 5-1 Astros, top 7

d’Arnaud grounds to short - Correa throws to second for one, Altuve throws to first, not in time...for now. Replay shows the Braves catcher was out, so we’ll wait for the confirmation but this inning should be over.

And it is. It’s 6-4-3 on the first dp of this game, and it’s stretch time in Houston.

Braves 5-1 Astros, top 7

Duvall walks and now d’Arnaud comes to the plate. He’ll have to wait because Dusty is out to get Maton. Hard throwing righty Ryne Stanek is heading in to try and quash another Braves rally.

Braves 5-1 Astros, top 7

Rosario slices a ball into the corner of the opposite field, that bing left, and cruises into second with a one-out double. Not bad for an outfielder non-tendered by the Twins who headed to Atlanta via Cleveland in a deadline salary dump.

Duvall, who crushed a two-run jack earlier, is at the plate looking for more.

Braves 5-1 Astros, bottom 7

Maton (May-tawn) is back for more in the seventh: Riley is first to face the Astros righty and the count runs full before the third baseman waves at a slider away.

One down for Rosario.

How about this cheeky...you fill in the blank.

Braves 5-1 Astros, bottom 6

McCormick waves at a slider in the dirt for strike three and the Astros leave their seventh run on base. That has to feel good for Jackson, who walks off after pitching a scoreless sixth inning.

Braves 5-1 Astros, bottom 6

Luke Jackson is on to pitch for the Braves - he was so good this season and struggled so against LA - what about now?

Well, he starts off by getting Correa on a not checked swing strikeout, even though Correa didn’t really check swing.

Then Tucker steps in and immediately singles to center. Jackson checks on him to first before throwibng his first pitch to Gurriel.

Then he deals and it’s a chopper to short - Albies has it and throws to first for the second out.

If Tucker wasn’t running that would’ve been a double play for sure.

Now it’s up to Chas McCormick to get Tucker home from second.

Braves 5-1 Astros, top 6

Relief in Houston - Albies bounces out to short, threat over, inning over.

Braves 5-1 Astros, top 6

Oh wow - Maton sneaks in a 75mph curveball past Soler, who can’t take his bat off his shoulders. Strike three! What a pitch!

That’s the second out and here’s Freeman who hits a ball deep in the hole at short that Bregman chases, has, jumps, throws on a bounce to first, not in time!

Tough play for Bregman who did the best he could there.

That means the inning continues: it’s two on, two out and here is the speedy Albies, always a tough out.

Braves 5-1 Astros, top 6

After Joc Pederson skies out to right before Swanson singles to right and here comes Dusty to get Odorizzi...or will he? The ump comes to break it up and Dusty finally takes the ball from the veteran hurler who walks off after a solid relief outing.

Righty Phil Maton comes in to face Soler at the top of the Braves lineup with one on and one out.

Braves 5-1 Astros, bottom 5

Alvarez pops to center and AJ Minter, bearded, sweating and red faced relieves Morton with a solid 2.2 innings, his longest outing of the year, to bridge the Braves into the sixth inning. He’s the hero right now, at least in the Braves dugout.

Braves 5-1 Astros, bottom 5

Now Bregman is frozen by Minter’s cutter and that’s his third strikeout.

the next batter is Yordan Alvarez, who is quickly in an 0-2 hole...

Braves 5-1 Astros, bottom 5

And we’re back with AJ Minter, who faces Brantley to start the Astros fifth.

He’s ahead 1-2 on the ex-Guardians outfielder, who manages to check his swing on a ball to even the count.

Now Minter runs the count full and Brantley flies to deep left and Rosario makes the catch after having to briefly doubling back. That’s a loud first out and here is Bregman who is 0-2 tonight.

Braves 5-1 Astros, top 5

Quick inning for Houston as d’Arnaud looks at a pitch on the outside corner for strike three. That’s five k’s for Odorizzi!

Here comes the heart of the Houston lineup...

FOX TV in the US reveals that Morton has a broken right fibula! So he’s out for the series and that is a huge blow to the Braves. Personally I thought there was a chance, albeit a slim chance, that Snitker might have gone three outings with Morton. That was my fantasy anyway.

Well that’s a bummer because he’s a lot of fun to watch pitch, even when he was pitching with a broken right fibula in the World Series, which happened!

We’ll see who Atlanta puts on the roster to replace him.

Meanwhile, Rosario grounded lightly to second for the first out, and now Duvall becomes Odirizzi’s fourth strikeout victim.

Here’s d’Arnaud.

Braves 5-1 Astros, bottom 4

Jesse Chavez warms in the Braves bullpen as Minter deals with Maldonado. The catcher lines a shot, but it is just foul down the third base line. That was close!

It’s o-2 and Maldonado fouls off a breaking pitch into the glove of the catcher d’Arnaud - strike three!

So now Altuve heads to the plate with two outs and the entire crowd on its feet - they know it’s a big moment.

Altuve, as usual, is first pitch swinging, and hits a ball in the air that Minter grabs after coming off the mound towards home. Gotta love that patience at the plate!

Inning over - the Astros get just one after Swanson’s error opens the door.

McCormick hits it hard to short - Swanson is there but it’s off of Dansby’s hand, which blocked his glove! Strange!

Tucker scores! Gurriel to third and the Astros are in business!

Maldonado heads to the plate after the first Braves error in the entire post-season...can that be right?

Braves 5-0 Astros, bottom 4

There’s a little cat and mouse game with Tucker as Minter makes that turn to second, no throw move, that always looks a little bit silly.

Now, down in the count, Gurriel lines a curveball over the plate into right field. Tucker has to hold, and it’s second and third with one down for Chas McCormick.

Braves 5-0 Astros, bottom 4

Tucker doesn’t wait - he lines his first pitch to right, and takes a turn before heading into second standing up. So a little bit of life in the dome as Gurriel heads to the plate with runner in scoring position.