ATLANTA — The Braves were supposed to do better against Zack Greinke.
That’s no disrespect to Greinke, whose strong postseason resume is part of his case for the Hall of Fame. It’s just that Greinke, 38, isn’t that guy now. Houston had barely used him in the playoffs after a season of injuries, a stint on the COVID-19 list and poor results late in the season.
The Braves couldn’t muster any offense against Greinke in Game 4 of the World Series. It looked like they might squander another fine night from their bullpen. Then Austin Riley, Dansby Swanson and Jorge Soler broke through against Houston’s bullpen to send the Braves to a 3-2 victory Saturday night at Truist Park.
Riley halved Houston’s 2-0 lead with an RBI single in the sixth. Swanson tied the score with a homer in the seventh. Soler followed him with another homer off the bench.
The Braves are one win away from their first World Series championship since 1995. That’s the only time the Braves have won since moving to Atlanta. They’ll get up to three tries to do it again because of the offensive formula they’ve perfected this postseason.
The Braves usually get one big hit from a star. Riley did it again in Game 4. So many times, the Braves have gotten offense from complementary veterans in lineups. On Saturday it was postseason-marvel Eddie Rosario, No. 8 hitter Swanson and pinch-hitter Soler.
The three runs were enough because the Braves once again got effective pitching. This time it was Kyle Wright, who hadn’t been in the majors since June 23 when the Braves summoned him for the Series.
Manager Brian Snitker had to construct a so-called bullpen game. The Braves opened with rookie Dylan Lee. He couldn’t throw strikes, was done after recording one out and was charged with a run. Snitker turned to Wright, who gave the Braves a chance by holding Houston to one run over 4 1/2 innings, Jose Altuve’s homer in the fourth.
Braves right-hander Chris Martin pitched a scoreless sixth. That set up the best Braves arms out of the ‘pen for the final three innings. But the Braves still trailed 2-0. They needed a rally.
Rosario, MVP of the National League Championship Series, got it started in the sixth with a single off lefty Brooks Raley. The next batter, Freddie Freeman, walked. Astros manager Dusty Baker summoned right-hander Phil Maton to Braves switch-hitter Ozzie Albies. Albies struck out with a full count.
Riley followed with a single that scored Rosario. The Astros intentionally walked lefty hitter Joc Pederson, who’s been struggling. They wanted Maton to get to righty Travis d’Arnaud, who’s heated up. D’Arnaud fell behind 1-2 in the count, fouled off a pitch and then looked at strike three.
Braves lefty Tyler Matzek allowed one hit and no runs in the top of the seventh. It was a tight, tough game. The Astros kept leaving runners on base. The Braves struggled to produce base runners. They sorely needed some power. Swanson and Soler provided it.
Swanson has scuffled at the plate for most of the postseason while providing little pop. In 13 games before Saturday, Swanson had one extra-base hit among 11 total with 13 strikeouts. He ended that power slump by driving Cristian Javier’s 0-2 fastball just over the brick wall in right field.
During the regular season, Soler was the best of the four outfielders the Braves acquired before the trade deadline. He didn’t hit much in the NLDS. He didn’t play much in the NLCS because he ended up on the COVID-19 list. Soler homered to lead off Game 1 of the Series and did it again in Game 4 off Javier.
Those runs ended a night of offensive frustration against Greinke. He was viewed more as an opener than a starter for his game. He’d appeared twice in Houston’s previous 13 games this postseason, on Oct. 10 and Oct. 19.
Greinke pitched around two hits for a scoreless inning against the White Sox in Game 3 of an American League Division Series. Baker went back to Greinke to start Game 4 of the ALCS against the Red Sox. He lasted just 1 2/3 innings while giving up a two-run homer.
Baker tried Greinke again Saturday. The Astros, like the Braves, had run out of good starting options. Baker’s reasoning: Greinke had pitched in a lot of big games. But even Baker wasn’t sure how much he’d get from Greinke. He had to be happy with how it turned out: four innings, no runs, four hits, three strikeouts, no walks.
Greinke’s stuff didn’t seem sharp. He wasn’t really peppering the strike zone: 37 strikes among 58 pitches. Greinke’s fastballs were the low 90s. That wasn’t much harder than his change-ups, which looked kind of like his sliders. The Braves just couldn’t figure him out.
All four of their hits against Greinke were singles. Greinke twice ended scoring threats by getting the Braves to ground into double plays. The Braves also couldn’t do anything against the first reliever Baker called on, right-hander Ryne Stanek. He retired them in order in the fifth.
Braves hitters kept grinding, like they have all playoffs. Then Rosario, Riley, Swanson and Soler delivered. It’s the blueprint that has the Braves on the verge of another World Series championship.
