Braves end drought with first championship since 1995

Luis Garcia, Freddie Freeman and Max Fried starred as the Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros to win the World Series for the first time since 1995.

Stats PerformUpdate: Nov 3rd, 2021 03:05 EDT

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The Atlanta Braves returned to the summit of MLB, claiming their first World Series crown in 26 years after blitzing the Houston Astros 7-0 on Tuesday.

Atlanta had the chance to clinch on home soil on Sunday but were denied by a desperate Astros franchise, who overturned a four-run deficit to prolong the best-of-seven series.

But the Braves were not to be denied in Game 6 as home runs from Jorge Soler, Dansby Swanson and Freddie Freeman secured a 4-2 series victory and their first World Series since 1995.

The drought-ending success delivered a fourth World Series title to the Braves, with all four championships being clinched in different cities – Boston, Milwaukee, Atlanta and Houston.

After two scoreless innings in Houston, the Braves seized control thanks to a three-run third inning at Minute Maid Park, where the bats of Astros stars Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Yordan Alvarez fell silent.

Garcia, Freeman and Fried set Braves records

🆓💣!@FreddieFreeman5 | #BattleATL pic.twitter.com/jIApQbaYWd

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) November 3, 2021

Soler was the instigator, his 446-foot three-run homer off Luis Garcia seeing him become the fourth player in Braves history to hit a three-run homer in a World Series after Hank Aaron (1957), Lonnie Smith (1991) and Ryan Klesko (1995).

The red-hot Braves did not let up in the fifth as Swanson delivered a two-run homer after Freeman’s double had allowed Soler to score earlier in the inning.

Entering the game, Freeman had eight career postseason home runs, with half of them coming in 2021 and the Braves star tied a franchise record.