WORLD SERIES STATS
How a deep dive reveals some surprising facts about Astros-Braves World Series
Oct 28, 2021, 4:18 pm
Zack Greinke is the highest-paid active Astro. Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Astros back up Greinke's impressive start to even series with A's
Baseball fans are arguably the most statistic-obsessed patrons of any major sport.
Anyone who's been at a game or sports bar has overheard or even experienced the accusation/questions, such as: "If you don't know how many home runs Barry Bonds hit in 2001, are you even a fan?"
With that very quirky quirk in mind, financial website WalletHub has released a slew of stats that will help fair-weather fans arm themselves against armchair MLB managers. One little tidbit from WalletHub's Best Baseball Cities/World Series list: Houston ranks No. 3 in performance level of an MLB team (well, duh).
But it's all about the Astros, right? So, some stats:
- Combined length of the Astros' and Braves' World Series draughts: 30 years
- Average ticket prices for 2021 World Series games in Atlanta: $2,691
- Average ticket prices for 2021 World Series games in Houston: $1,702
- Houston Astros value: $1.87B
- Atlanta Braves value: $1.88B
- Amount Astros paid per regular-season victory: $2.1M
- 2021 Astros team salary: $199.8M
- 2021 Braves team salary: $176.4M
- Highest-paid active Astros player: $35M
- Highest-paid active Braves player: $22.4M
Of course, there's only one stat Houstonians care about: one — as in one 2021 World Series title
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Jeremy Peña and Christian Walker each hit a three-run homer, and the Houston Astros outslugged the Baltimore Orioles 10-7 on Friday night.
A little something to make your day better pic.twitter.com/whwYikHwx2
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 22, 2025
Colton Cowser went deep for Baltimore, but the Orioles couldn’t pull this game out despite twice cutting a four-run deficit to one.
Steven Okert (2-2) got the win in relief for Houston, and the Astros — who are without injured closer Josh Hader and lefty reliever Bennett Sousa — held on. Houston signed veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel and he was with the team, but the AL West-leading Astros didn’t use him. Bryan Abreu struck out four to end the game and get his second save.
Rookie catcher Samuel Basallo, who agreed to an eight-year, $67 million contract before the game, did not start for the Orioles, but entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh and tagged out a runner at the plate the following inning.
Peña’s drive to left capped a four-run third that included two Baltimore errors. Jeremiah Jackson’s two-run double made it 4-3 in the fourth, but after Orioles starter Cade Povich (2-7) was pulled with two outs in the fifth, Yennier Cano came on and immediately gave up Walker’s homer.
The Orioles trailed 7-6 after Cowser’s solo shot in the seventh, but pinch-hitter Victor Caratini’s two-run double in the eighth made it a three-run game, and Peña’s comebacker bounced off reliever Corbin Martin and into shallow right-center field for an RBI double.
Orioles infielder Vimael Machín hit a solo homer in the eighth in his first big league plate appearance since 2022.
Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr. allowed three runs in four innings after coming off the injured list (right finger blister).
Key moment
Jackson nearly made a diving catch on Caratini’s hit with two outs in the eighth, but once the ball got past him in right, two runs scored to make it 9-6.
Adding some insurance! pic.twitter.com/wKoPuHmenr
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 23, 2025
Key stat
The Astros improved to 15-8 in games in which their opponent starts a left-handed pitcher.
Up next
Cristian Javier (1-1) starts for Houston on Saturday night against Dean Kremer (9-9) of the Orioles.