Braves win 1st World Series since 1995

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros in six games to claim the 2021 World Series, winning Tuesday's contest 7-0 to earn their first championship since 1995.

Max Fried turned in a dominant outing in the victory, allowing four hits while striking out six over six shutout frames. The left-hander made the longest start for either team in this year's Fall Classic despite being involved in a scary play before he'd recorded a single out, as Michael Brantley stepped on his ankle at first base during the first inning.

Astros rookie Luis Garcia was hit with the loss, surrendering three runs on two hits and one walk over 2 2/3 innings while starting Game 6 on three days' rest.

Braves slugger Jorge Soler earned MVP honors. He hit three homers over the six-game series, including a mammoth, go-ahead, three-run dinger in the final contest. Atlanta acquired Soler prior to this year's trade deadline from the Kansas City Royals for right-handed pitching prospect Kasey Kalich.

Soler was part of a flurry of acquisitions the Braves made prior to the trade deadline, which included NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario, Joc Pederson, and Adam Duvall. All four outfielders were brought in to cover for the untimely injury of superstar Ronald Acuna Jr., who suffered a torn ACL in July.

"We hit every problem, every bump you could possibly hit this year," first baseman Freddie Freeman said, according to The Associated Press. "Injuries, every single kind of thing that could have happened, that could go wrong, went wrong, and we overcame every single one of those things."

Freeman, 32, is set to hit free agency this winter. The 2020 NL MVP hit .300/.393/.503 with 31 homers and eight stolen bases, leading the Senior Circuit with 120 runs scored.

For the Braves, it's only their second championship since moving to Atlanta in 1966. The franchise also won titles in 1914 as the Boston Braves and in 1957 as the Milwaukee Braves.

After finishing 88-73 (.547) in the regular season, the Braves have the fifth-worst regular-season winning percentage among championship teams, behind the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals (.516), 1987 Minnesota Twins (.525), 2000 New York Yankees (.540), and 2014 San Francisco Giants (.543).

The Braves' championship occurs in a season where Atlanta was slated to host its first All-Star Game at Truist Park, which originally opened in 2017. However, Major League Baseball moved the Midsummer Classic from Atlanta to Colorado in the middle of the season.

The Braves had an opportunity to win at home Sunday and would've become the first club to claim a title at its own ballpark since 2013. Instead, the streak of winning on opponent's soil continues for an eighth straight year, with the Commissioner's Trophy being awarded at Houston's Minute Maid Park.