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On Friday night at Truist Park, Atlanta came oh-so-close to giving Don Larsen some long-awaited company in the club for World Series no-hitters.
Alas, that didn’t pan out. Yet Atlanta still ended up a dandy of a consolation prize: not just a two-hitter, but a 2-0 win that puts them firmly in control of this Fall Classic by way of a 2-1 series lead over the Houston Astros.
Though it wasn’t a banner night for Atlanta’s offense, the fearsome fivesome of starter Ian Anderson and relievers A.J. Minter, Luke Jackson, Tyler Matzek and Will Smith ensured it didn’t need to be. To wit, the first three held the Astros hitless through seventh inning, achieving a feat not accomplished in the World Series since 1967.
After Aledmys Diaz broke up the no-no with a bloop single in the top of the eighth, Atlanta went into the bottom half looking to add insurance to its 1-0 lead. Travis d’Arnaud obliged with an absolute moonshot off previously untouchable right-hander Kendall Graveman.
If there’s a bright side for the Astros right now, it’s that they’ve been here before. They were also in a 2-1 hole after three games in the American League Championship Series, yet they snapped out of that funk to outscore the Boston Red Sox 23-3 in the next three games.
History, though, certainly favors Atlanta. According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, before this year there were 60 instances of the World Series being tied 1-1 after two games. In those, the team that won Game 3 went on to win the series 39 times.
Atlanta Players of the Game
- RHP Ian Anderson: 5.0 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 0 R, 4 K. Regardless of whether he should have been allowed to continue, he at least made history by becoming the first rookie since 1912 to pitch as many as five no-hit innings in a World Series games.
- 3B Austin Riley and C Travis d’Arnaud: On a night otherwise dominated by pitching, Riley’s RBI double in the third and d’Arnaud’s solo home run in the eighth proved to be more than enough offense for Atlanta.
Astros Players of the Game
- RHP Yimi Garcia: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 0 K. Though far from the best option that Dusty Baker has in his bullpen (or “arm barn,” if that wags your tail), Garcia was effectively the bulk guy for the Astros in relief on Friday.
- PH Aledmys Diaz and 3B Alex Bregman: They got hits! Good for them.
It’s Hard to Argue with Brian Snitker’s Quick Hook
Even though Atlanta grabbed a win and the series lead on Friday, what might have been if only manager Brian Snitker had stuck with Anderson a little longer is nonetheless a fascinating question.
Through five innings, the zero that the rookie right-hander had in his hit column was legit. The Astros really weren’t touching him, as he had struck out four batters while also limiting Houston hitters to just 85.6 mph in average exit velocity when they did make contact.
The only thing remotely close to a hit that Anderson permitted was a 94.0 mph line drive off the bat of Martin Maldonado in the fifth inning. Fortunately for him, it found Ozzie Albies’ glove for an out.
Beyond the fact that Anderson had his team on track for the first World Series no-no since Larsen’s perfect game for the New York Yankees in 1956, Snitker had another powerful incentive to stick with him. With Game 3 set to be the first of three consecutive games, fresh arms are going to be at a premium over the next three days.
But even knowing all this, Snitker made the right call.
Especially with his third trip through the Astros’ batting order on deck for the sixth inning, it really stood out that Anderson was living dangerously even as he was allowing no hits. He missed the strike zone with 37 of his 76 pitches, tallying three walks and a hit batsman.
From his perch in Houston’s dugout, Baker saw what everyone else did:
While 76 pitches isn’t much of a workload in a vacuum, that’s more than the 23-year-old had averaged through his first three outings of this postseason. He was therefore at risk of being overextended, and Atlanta simply can’t take that risk after having already lost ace Charlie Morton to a fractured leg.
Granted, Anderson himself didn’t want to come out. But when he asked Snitker if he was sure what he was doing, the sixth-year skipper told him: “Ian, I’m going with my gut right here.”
Because his gut ultimately had the right idea, Snitker’s club won’t be in that bad of a position even if the Astros bounce back and win Games 4 and 5. If Atlanta must head back to Houston, at least it’ll have Max Fried and Anderson ready to go in Games 6 and/or 7.
As far as the Astros are concerned, there aren’t many silver linings to be gleaned from their performance in Game 3.
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
Sure, it’s not the worst thing that Atlanta used all four of its best relievers even with a bullpen game on tap for Game 4 on Saturday and another contest set to follow on Sunday. However, the Astros aren’t any better off in this regard.
Baker had to squeeze 4.1 innings out of his relievers on Friday, and he’ll almost certainly need even more out of his pen in relief of Zack Greinke on Saturday. The future Hall of Famer threw just 37 pitches in Game 4 of the ALCS, and it’s now been over a month since he last handled a workload heavier than that.
As has generally been the case throughout the 2021 season, it’ll therefore be up to Houston’s offense to come to the rescue.
This is the same offense that led the majors in runs during the regular season, so this is plenty doable in theory. But in reality, the Astros offense just hasn’t looked very mighty in this series. Through three games, it boasts all of one home run, one triple and four doubles to go with its nine runs.
Such things speak to the sudden challenge it’s having with producing hard contact. So it went in Game 3, wherein Atlanta claimed six of the game’s seven hardest-hit balls.
Of course, Atlanta can look at what Houston did to the Red Sox for evidence that its foot is best kept on the gas. But judging from how he handled Anderson and his bullpen on Friday, this is the kind of advice that Snitker doesn’t need to hear right now.
What’s Next for Houston and Atlanta?
The Astros and Atlanta will return to Truist Park for Game 4 on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 8:09 p.m. ET.
While Baker has confirmed Greinke as his starter for Game 4, Snitker has yet to name a starter. Or, more accurately, an “opener.” Because whether it’s Jesse Chavez, Drew Smyly or someone else, whoever’s first out of the gate for Atlanta on Saturday won’t be out there for long.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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