José Siri dove headfirst towards the plate. After scoring, he sat up immediately, flexed his arms and screamed with all his might.
Welcome to the World Series, rookie.
The Dominican, who has spent most of his career in the minors, represented the spark that ignited the performance of a team whose main figures took a little longer to shine. The Houston Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-2 on Wednesday night to tie the World Series to one win per side.
Venezuelan José Altuve hit a double early in the game and a late-game homer, in addition to scoring two runs.
Siri’s speed and aggressiveness wreaked havoc on the bases, leading to a four-run cluster in the second inning as the Astros snapped a five-trip home run in the Fall Classic.
Houston had not won a World Series game at home since October 29, 2017. It was Game 5, in which they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 13-12 in 10 innings.
Altuve doubled and scored in the first inning, before adding a solo home run in the seventh. Thus, the Astros overcame some Braves who suddenly lost efficiency and concentration.
Mexico’s Jose Urquidy gave the Astros five solid innings, and Houston’s bullpen, so important this postseason, did the rest.
The series moves to Atlanta for the first of three games there, beginning Friday night.
The Astros attacked starter Max Fried with seven hits and six runs – five earned – over five innings.
The game was tied 1-1 when Kyle Tucker singled with one out in the second act. He advanced to third on a single by Cuban Yuli Gurriel.
The speedy Siri, who made his debut just Sept. 3, then hit base with an in-frame hit for Tucker to score the run that put the hosts ahead.
Siri became the first player to make his debut in September or after and to have produced a run in that year’s World Series.
How does it feel
Puerto Rican Martín Maldonado singled to his countryman, left fielder Eddie Rosario, to drive Gurriel.
The Braves, who tend to stick to the fundamentals of the game, were erratic. Rosario threw into a busy third room and the ball went into foul territory, for Siri to run home.
Siri stood on the plate, enjoying a moment she thought would never come.
Stuck in the minors since 2013, the emotional 26-year-old outfielder now has a brilliant performance on his resume. Nothing less than in the “World Siri”.
For the Braves, Puerto Rican Eddie Rosario 4-0. Cuban Jorge Soler 4-1.
For the Astros, Venezuelan José Altuve 5-2 with two runs scored and one RBI. The Cubans Yordan Álvarez 2-0 with a run scored, Yuli Gurriel 4-1 with a run scored and an RBI. Puerto Ricans Carlos Correa 4-1, Martín Maldonado 4-1 with a run scored and an RBI. The Dominican José Siri 4-1, with one scored and one produced. (AP)