The Atlanta Braves win the World Series for the first time in 26 years after their 7-0 triumph over the Houston Astros in Game 6

The Atlanta Braves won the World Series of baseball for the first time in 26 years after a resounding 7-0 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 6.

Jorge Soler, who tested positive for COVID-19 during the postseason, gave the Braves an early lead with a three-run hit and was later named World Series MVP, becoming the second player Cuban after Livan Hernández to claim the honor.

And combined with Max Fried producing the pitching performance of the entire series, the Astros never really got involved in the game.

The Astros, seeking a second Fall Classic victory in five years, entered as clear favorites, but were unable to force a deciding Game 7 at Minute Maid Park.

For the Braves, it was a second World Series victory since moving to Atlanta in 1966 and their fourth victory overall – the previous two dating back to 1914 and 1957 as the Boston Braves and Milwaukee Braves respectively.

At times it looked like they had limped through the season with a growing injury list. An Achilles injury ruled out pitcher Mike Soroka for the season while more recently Charlie Morton broke his leg in Game 1 of the World Series. Ronald Acuna was among the other walking wounded and watched from the sidelines.

There had been signs the team might collapse after blowing a lead in Game 5, but they saved arguably their best overall team performance for what proved to be their defining night and to seal this first World Series since 1995.

Since then, the Braves have had no shortage of upheavals ranging from two stadium moves to a change in ownership, not to mention an MLB signing penalty.

For most neutrals, they were the preferred winner, with many MLB fans still seething from the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal against opposing teams during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

A World Series victory has long been in sight for Atlanta with four consecutive National League East titles.

After the victory, Freddie Freeman, who hit a solo home run in the game, said, “This team hit every pothole and every bump you could possibly hit this year.” Everything that could go wrong went wrong and we overcame each of those things. We came every day, prepared and worked and ended up becoming world champions.

The win was especially sweet for manager Brian Snitker, who joined the organization 45 years ago. He added: “We lost a lot of pieces over the summer and it was just next man up. These guys never stopped believing in themselves, they never stopped working.

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