Talk about making a grand entrance.
On the verge of capturing their first World Series title in 26 years, the Braves opened Sunday's Game 5 with a bang, as center fielder Adam Duvall staked Atlanta to a 4-0 lead with a two-out grand slam to right field.
It was just the third first-inning grand slam in World Series history, and the first since 1960. Duvall's blast was also the third first-inning grand slam of this postseason. Prior to 2021, there had only been six such instances from 1903 to 2020, per Christopher Kamka of Baseball-Reference.
Duvall's star turn is fitting for a Braves team that's relied on huge contributions from its outfield comprised of also-rans acquired at the trade deadline. Duvall, Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler were all traded for in July, and each have alternated playing starring roles during Atlanta's run to the World Series.
Rosario hit .560 with three home runs to be named the MVP of the NLCS against the Dodgers. Entering Sunday's game, Soler had gone 4-for-12 with two home runs during the World Series—including the game-winning blast in the seventh inning of Game 4. And Pederson had notched three home runs and nine RBIs in 13 postseason games prior to Game 5.
Teams are 18-2 when hitting a grand slam in a World Series game, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs. The last team to lose after hitting a grand slam was the A's in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, when Kirk Gibson hit his iconic pinch-hit, walk-off home run to kick off a 4-1 series win for the Dodgers.
