Behind an early eruption against Atlanta Braves starter Max Fried, the Houston Astros tied the World Series at 1-1 with a 7-2 win in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Houston got on the board with an Alex Bregman sacrifice fly in the first, then broke the game open with a four-run rally in the second inning, capped off by a Michael Brantley RBI single. With their pitching staff already gassed thanks to unexpected bullpen game in Game 1, the Braves ended up riding Fried for five innings.
Jose Altuve finished the scoring in the seventh inning with a homer off Drew Smyly, his 22nd career postseason homer. That ties him with Bernie Williams for the second-most in MLB history, behind only Manny Ramirez (29).
On the pitching side, Astros starter Jose Urquidy posted a solid five innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs while striking out seven and walking none.
First World Series home win in 3 years
While a home win might not seem like a big achievement for the World Series favorites, it was odd in at least one way. No MLB team had won a World Series game in its home park since the Los Angeles Dodgers … in 2018. The Max Muncy walk-off game, to be specific.
The 2020 World Series obviously saw no true home games thanks to the pandemic, while the 2019 World Series produced one of baseball great oddities with seven straight road wins, which worked out well for the underdog Washington Nationals.
The Braves will be hoping to see some home wins themselves, as the series now goes back to Atlanta for three games.