We for sure have ourselves a series.

After dropping game one of the 2021 World Series at home, the Houston Astros took down the Atlanta Braves in game two by a final score of 7-2. Six different Astros notched RBI’s in the contest, capped by Jose Altuve’s 22nd career postseason home run. 

Right-hander Jose Urquidy took the mound for the Astros, looking for his second career postseason victory. He started off strong, retiring the first two batters he faced before escaping a two out jam to finish off the first inning.

The Astros offense, facing off against lefty Max Fried, was poised and ready to strike out the gate. Altuve jumped on one of the first pitches Fried threw to lead off the game with a double, and the second baseman came around to score two batters later via the sacrifice fly. Within the first three batters of the game, Houston had the lead.

The Braves offense came to life in the second, as catcher and ex-Met Travis d’Arnaud turned on a high fastball and slammed it into the left field stands to tie the game at one-a-piece.

The stalemate didn’t last long, however, as the Astros offense continued to pelt the Braves starter with hits. With two runners on and one gone, Houston rookie Jose Siri legged out an infield hit that scored the Astros’ second run of the game, and then came around to score after a base hit and error cleared the bases. Before the inning finally came to a close, the Astros held a 5-1 lead.

Urquidy went to work after this, and, with a comfortable lead, cruised through the third, fourth, and fifth; the only other run he allowed was a RBI single off the bat of Freddie Freeman in the fifth. After throwing 74 pitches, Houston opted for their bullpen, ending Urquidy’s night. The right-hander allowed six hits over five innings, striking out seven. 

Fried settled in after the rough second inning, and made it all the way into the sixth before sailing into rough waters again. After walking Yordan Alvarez and surrendering a single to Carlos Correa, Braves manager Brian Snitker went to the bullpen. 

With one out and runners on the corners, Yuli Gurriel grounded a ball to shortstop that looked to be an inning ending double play. The baseball gods had other ideas, however, as Ozzie Albies dropped the ball at second base, allowing the runner on third to score without retiring a single baserunner. Fortunately for the Braves, that gaff would only result in the one run scored, and the sixth came to a close with no further damage done. 

Still, with the Astros up 6-2 and their bullpen working wonders, the Braves were in a tough spot to mount a comeback. The task became even harder in the seventh, when Altuve crushed a solo home run to bring his grand total of postseason home runs to 22. 

Kendall Graveman came in for the ninth to slam the door, and he was efficient, taking down the Braves in order to put the finishing touches on game two. 

Postseason monster Eddie Rosario, one of the keys to the Braves offensive success, was held at bay on Wednesday night with an 0-for-4 performance. His hitless night put an end to his 11-game postseason hit streak. 

With the series evened at one, the teams will venture to Atlanta for game three on Friday, scheduled for 8:09 p.m. EST.