World Series Ian Anderson Atlanta braves Houston Astros

Ian Anderson had pitched five innings without a hitting when Brian Snitker approached the 23-year-old and said, “That’s it. “

” Are you sure? Are you sure? Asked the rookie right-hander.

“I’m going with my instinct here,” the manager said.

On a night that showed how far baseball has evolved in the analytical age, Anderson and the Braves’ box made a no-hitting offer in the eighth inning, Austin Riley and Travis d’Arnaud produced points and Atlanta beat the Houston Astros 2-0 on Friday to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series.

Pinch hitter Aledmys Díaz scored an eighth-lead single against Tyler Matzek who fell to Eddie Rosario , just 232 feet off home plate, for Houston’s first hit as the left fielder stopped to avoid d ‘collide with the Dansby Swanson shortstop .

Alex Bregman tackled a single through the wide open right side of a staggered infielder leading the ninth against Will Smith , who remained perfect in five playoff stoppages.

Anderson threw 76 shots, and AJ Minter , Luke Jackson , Matzek and Smith combined for the last 57 of the 18th shutout of two hits in series history.

“Obviously you want the chance to compete, especially on a bigger stage like this,” Anderson said. “But, yeah, I knew he wasn’t going to budge. ”

Snitker didn’t consider giving Anderson a chance to join Don Larsen of the Yankees, whose perfect match in 1956 was the only batterless in the series.

“He wasn’t going to pitch a game without a hitting in nine innings,” said Snitker. “He wasn’t going to have any pitches to do that. ”

Anderson put out four strikes and walked three, throwing just 39 of 76 shots for strikes.

“He was indeed wild,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “Our guys have never been able to focus on strikes. ”

Anderson is 4-0 in his playoff career with a 1.26 ERA.

“He’s become an absolute animal, a playoff beast,” said Matzek.

Full games are near extinction. The closest Anderson came to a hitterless in the minors was on June 28, 2019, when he was put out after seven innings and 102 pitches for Double-A Mississippi against Jackson, and his teammate Jeremy Walker finished with no relief. for sure.

“  Luc Jackson didn’t know. Minter didn’t know, ”Matzek said of the no-hit offer. “After I finished my sleeve, they came up and said, ‘Hey, did you know you gave up the first hit? And I said, ‘Yes, I knew that. I have been careful.

Of the 60 times the series was tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 has won 39 times, including six of the last nine.

Riley hit an RBI brace in the third on a rookie Luis Garcia cutter after Freddie Freeman single, and Arnaud added his second series homerun in the eighth, at 437 feet Kendall Graveman it was the first long ball from d ‘Arnaud at home since September 2020.

Atlanta, which blocked nine runners, rose to 6-0 in the playoffs at Truist Park, which opened in 2017 and where it has won 11 of its last 12 games. The Braves ended a five-game losing streak at home in the World Series.

Houston, the best-performing team in major tournaments this season with an average of 0.267, was limited to seven base runners.

“We didn’t swing him for a game,” Bregman said. “I think we dump it and move on to the next day and have a short memory. ”

Díaz’s hit ended the longest no-hit offer in the series since Game 2 in 1967. Boston ace Jim Lonborg threw a hit and gave Julian a brace with two eighth strikeouts. Javier of St. Louis.

Pinch-runner José Siri stole the second with two outs in the eighth and went to the third when d’Arnaud’s throw jumped into center field for a mistake, but Siri was blocked when Michael Brantley jumped against Matzek.

On a humid 49-degree night, the rookies faced off in the series for just the eighth time. Garcia allowed three hits in 3 2/3 innings with six strikeouts and four walks. He threw 72 pitches and came out after getting the first two outs of the fourth with just two pitches.

While Baker (72) and Snitker (66) had the highest combined ages of World Series managers, they lifted their starting pitchers according to the schedule triggered by modern metrics – after exactly 18 batters each, unwilling to that the heads hitters face the same pitcher for the third time.

Snitker, in his 44th season with the Braves, knows a few years ago he would have let Anderson stay.

“The old me, probably a few years ago,” said Snitker, “I am how the hell am I going to do this? “

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