'It will get done': 3 reasons Astros can rally

ATLANTA -- Jose Altuve crushed a slider from Braves reliever Luke Jackson, sending it rocketing toward the left-field fence. For a moment, it appeared Altuve was about to tie Game 4 of the World Series with another home run in the eighth inning, giving the Astros some life.

Braves left fielder Eddie Rosario instead reached out and somehow plucked the ball out of the air before bumping into the wall. The flyout would have been a home run in 26 of 30 Major League parks, including Minute Maid Park, but at Truist Field it turned out to be symbolic of the Astros’ frustrations in the Fall Classic.

The Astros’ vaunted offense remained in an October deep freeze, and Houston’s battle-tested bullpen showed its vulnerability when Cristian Javier gave up back-to-back homers in the seventh inning as the Braves rallied for a 3-2 win and a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Series.

? Bullpen cedes first lead change of Series

With that, the Astros need to win three games in a row, beginning with Game 5 on Sunday night, or their season will come to an end.

“We’ve got to go out there and fight,” shortstop Carlos Correa said. “Nobody said it was going to be easy, but if there’s one team that can do it, it’s us.”

Here are three reasons why the World Series isn’t quite over yet.

1. One win away from heading home
If the Astros can pull out a win in Game 5, they’ll return to Minute Maid Park needing to win two games. That task sounds a lot less daunting than having to win three consecutive games, which the Astros did in the American League Championship Series after they fell behind 2-1 to the Red Sox. Houston has won six of its last eight home playoff games.

“Just basically focus on one game at a time,” Altuve said. “That's it. That's pretty much what we talk about. If we win tomorrow, then try to win Game 6 and see what happens. But we've got to focus on one game, and that game is tomorrow.”

? 'Vintage Greinke' in potential farewell start

This will be the Astros’ first elimination game this postseason, though they did win three in a row in last year’s ALCS against the Rays after falling behind 3-0, so they’ve had experience with their backs against the wall.

“You lean on your past,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “These guys, we were down 3-0 last year, and you lean on that, and you lean on the other series that they've come back on. You really don't have any choice but that. You know, how small is your faith if you just crumble under every circumstance? You've got to have faith that you can do it, and it will get done.”

2. Valdez awaits the Braves
While the Braves appear to be going with a bullpen in Game 5 -- which isn’t necessarily a silver lining for the Astros considering how great Atlanta’s bullpen has been -- left-hander Framber Valdez will start for Houston.

Valdez turned in one of the best outings in the 2021 playoffs when he allowed one run and three hits in eight innings in Game 5 of the ALCS at Boston. That came five days after he gave up three runs (two earned) and six hits in 2 2/3 innings in the series opener.

? 'Backs to the wall,' Astros turning to Valdez

Maybe the Astros can take some solace in the fact Valdez lasted only two innings in his Game 1 World Series start against the Braves, allowing five runs and eight hits, and he could be poised for a bounce-back outing like he had against Boston in the ALCS.

“I just was determined that I was going to throw at least seven,” Valdez said. “[Sunday], I'm just focused on doing the job the best I can. I'm going to try to attack the zone with intensity, throw the first strike, get ahead of guys. I don't have a specific number [of innings] in mind. I want to go out and do the best job I can and have an even better outing than I did against the Red Sox.”

3. The offense has to break out, right?
The Astros’ offense can’t continue to be this inept. After all, Houston led the Major Leagues in runs scored in the regular season and came into the World Series like a buzz saw, averaging 6.7 runs through its first 10 playoff games of 2021.

Houston can’t swing the bats much worse than it has so far in the Fall Classic. The Astros are slashing .206/.291/.298 as a team with two homers in four games. They’ve yet to reach double-digit hits in any game and are 4-for-31 with runners in scoring position. Correa (2-for-14), Yordan Alvarez (1-for-11) and Alex Bregman (1-for-14) have especially struggled.

“Their pitching staff is really good and their bullpen guys are really good, and you saw it in that series [NLCS] against the Dodgers,” Correa said. “We’ve just got to go tomorrow and have a better approach and put good at-bats together. We’re not doing that right now.”

At least the Astros have now gotten a look at all of the Braves relievers, most of them multiple times, which should help with their approach the rest of the Series.

“It’s not the same when you’ve seen some of their pitchers before or you saw them throughout the year,” Correa said. “One thing is looking at video, but it’s another to have faced them before. But at the same time, they’re in the same boat as us. They figured out a way to win three games against us, and we have to figure out our own way to go out there and get back in the Series.”