Houston needs three straight wins
Astros fall behind 3-1 in World Series as Braves complete Game 4 comeback
Oct 30, 2021, 10:59 pm
Despite two early runs, Houston's offense continued to waste chances in World Series Game 4. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Despite two early runs, Houston's offense continued to waste chances in World Series Game 4.
One of the essential qualities of many championship teams is how well they responded when faced with adversity or slumps. The Astros showed that quality in the ALCS, nearly facing a 3-1 series deficit but instead roaring back in Game 4 in Boston to eventually kickstart their dominant finish to win that series in six games.
In World Series Game 4, though, despite going up 2-0 early in the game, the Braves would be the ones with the big response, rallying from behind to grab a late lead and get the victory, putting them ahead 3-1 and pushing Houston to the brink of elimination.
Final Score: Braves 3, Astros 2
World Series (Best of Seven): Atlanta leads 3-1
Winning Pitcher: Tyler Matzek
Losing Pitcher: Cristian Javier
Houston strike first, but leave many stranded
After a frigid night at the plate in Game 3, Houston quickly changed that narrative by getting a hot start to Game 4. As he frequently does, Jose Altuve went after the first pitch, succeeding this time with a single for the first hit of the night. The Astros went on to load the bases with one out, working two walks against Atlanta's opener, Dylan Lee.
The @astros strike first in Game 4 as Correa drives in a run on the grounder. pic.twitter.com/xIkbc6MC9g
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 31, 2021
Carlos Correa then entered and faced Kyle Wright, driving in Altuve with an RBI groundout. While the run was certainly welcome to the Astros, that kicked off a string of stranded runners as they would go on to strand two in the first, two in the second, and three in the third, making their 1-0 lead seem like it should be exceedingly more.
Greinke goes four scoreless, Altuve doubles the lead
Over that span, Zack Greinke impressed by providing four efficient innings of scoreless pitching, maintaining the lead for his team. He gave up just four hits, a single in each inning, all of which he would erase en route to his shutout appearance.
In the top of the fourth, Altuve doubled the lead, blasting a one-out solo homer 434 feet to center field to extend Houston's advantage to 2-0. After Greinke was done, Ryne Stanek came in as the first reliever for Houston in the bottom of the fifth, retiring the Braves 1-2-3.
The @astros strike first in Game 4 as Correa drives in a run on the grounder. pic.twitter.com/xIkbc6MC9g
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 31, 2021
Braves rally back to take the lead
Atlanta rallied in the bottom of the sixth, with Brooks Raley coming in initially but giving up a double and a walk while getting an out against the three batters he faced. Phil Maton was next to try and end the threat, but after a strikeout, he allowed a two-out RBI single to make it a one-run game. Houston opted to intentionally walk Joc Pederson next, loading the bases for Travis d'Arnaud, who would go down swinging against Maton to leave Houston with the lead.
Still ahead just 2-1 after a scoreless top half, the Astros moved on to Cristian Javier in the bottom of the seventh. After a strikeout to start the frame, Dansby Swanson would take advantage of a fastball in the zone, driving it out on a game-tying solo homer, making it 2-2. Things went from bad to worse for Houston, as Jorge Soler made it back-to-back homers in the next at-bat, sneaking one over the left-field wall that Yordan Alvarez crashed into trying to make a play, putting the Braves in front.
AIR SOLER!@solerpower12 | #BattleATL pic.twitter.com/uDdo385pJo
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 31, 2021
Astros drop Game 4 and are in dangerous territory
Ryan Pressly would come in against the top of the order at that point to try and stop Atlanta's momentum, and he would get two strikeouts to end the inning. After a 1-2-3 top of the eighth by Atlanta's bullpen, Pressly returned to try and get through the bottom of the inning. He would send the game to the ninth, still separated by just one run despite a leadoff walk and one-out hit batter.
With their 2-3-4 hitters up in the top of the ninth, Houston would get turned away once again by Atlanta's bullpen. The Braves, with the win, take a commanding 3-1 series lead, putting the Astros in a position to win three straight games or disappointingly end their season.
Up Next: World Series Game 5 will have a first pitch time of 7:15 PM Central on Sunday from Truist Park in Atlanta. While the Astros will go back to Framber Valdez to try and rebound from his rough Game 1 start, the Braves are expected to have a bullpen day and have not yet named who will start that off.
The Houston Texans addressed their most glaring needs by selecting offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery and a pair of Iowa State receivers in the NFL draft.
“The idea was to try to add good players, good people that are young, tough, hungry, that want to win, that put the team first,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “These picks exemplify that.”
The Texans got players that could help them quickly despite not picking in the first round for a second straight season. They didn’t have a first-round pick last year because of trades, including the one to move up and get defensive end Will Anderson with the third overall pick in the 2023 draft.
This season they shipped the 25th overall pick to the Giants on Thursday in exchange for several picks.
Their first selection in this draft was receiver Jayden Higgins, who was taken with the second pick of the second round. They added Ersery later in the second round with the 48th overall selection and picked up Higgins’ teammate Jaylin Noel in the third round.
Ersery could be Houston’s left tackle of the future after the offseason trade of five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Ersery started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota where he was a third-team All-American last season.
He comes to Houston to help shore up a line that allowed C.J. Stroud to be sacked 52 times last season, which was the second most in the NFL.
The Texans added veteran tackle Cam Robinson this offseason and Ersery will compete with him to protect Stroud’s blind side as the Texans attempt to reach the playoffs for a third straight season under coach DeMeco Ryans.
The 6-foot-6, 331-pound Ersery, who was the Big Ten’s Offensive Lineman of the Year last season, can’t wait to play with Stroud.
“C.J. Stroud is a baller,” Ersery said. “I’m so honored to be a guy to help out and come in and help protect him. I’m just super stoked and I know I’m going to a great organization.”
Cyclones teammates
Higgins and Noel join the Texans to add more depth at receiver to complement star Nico Collins with Tank Dell recovering from a serious knee injury and Stefon Diggs gone to the Patriots.
Higgins, who has been compared to Collins, had 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Cyclones and Noel added 80 catches for 1,194 yards and eight scores.
After Higgins was drafted, Noel never imagined he’d be heading to Houston, too. He shared on social media a fortune he received from a Chinese restaurant that read: “Look forward to an unplanned reunion with an out-of-touch friend.”
Noel later shared his feelings about joining Higgins on the roster.
“I was surprised,” Noel said. “But they’ve seen that 1-2 punch all year. They’re going to be very happy with those selections for sure.”
Caserio said a talk with Iowa State coach Matt Campbell on Friday helped him make his final decisions on the receivers.
“He was effusive in his… belief and praise of both Higgins and Noel,” Caserio said.
The Texans now have three receivers from Iowa State on their roster after drafting Xavier Hutchinson in the sixth round in 2023.
Overcoming obstacles
Ersery and his four siblings were raised by a single mother and experienced homelessness when he was a child despite her working multiple jobs. He is thrilled to have put those struggles behind him as he embarks on his next chapter.
“I’ve got that hardworking mentality from her,” he said. “So, growing up times were tough but now I’ve got my foot in the door and I look forward to trying to change some things around.”
Caserio loves guys with work ethic like Ersery’s and said that’s one reason why they believe he’ll fit in with the Texans.
“If you come in and put your head down and work and just get better, take advantage of your opportunities, you’re going to have a shot to have success and do a lot of good things for the organization,” he said.
What’s in a name?
Along with Noel, the Texans added another Jaylin in this draft with they picked USC cornerback Jaylin Smith in the third round.
“We got Jaylins, and we got all these guys around. It’s going to be hard to keep them straight,” Caserio joked on Friday after they picked Smith.
Then on Saturday, the Texans added another player with the same name, albeit with a different spelling, when they took Penn State safety Jaylen Reed in the sixth round.
That gives them four players with the same name and three different spellings as the three rookies join starting safety Jalen Pitre on the team.
Doubling up
Along with drafting two players from Iowa State, the Texans also added a pair of players from Southern California when they picked running back Woody Marks in the fourth round after drafting Smith in the third.
Marks ran for a career-high 1,133 yards with nine touchdowns for the Trojans last season after transferring from Mississippi State.
Be sure to watch the video below as NFL.com Draft Analyst Lance Zierlein shares his thoughts on all the Texans' picks!