Atlanta was denied a hometown celebration when the Houston Astros rallied from an early 4-0 deficit for a 9-5 win in Game 5 of the World Series.
The place was rocking, the pearl-clad fans sensing this truly was going to be a special night, the kind they’d been hopefully marking on the calendar for more than a quarter-century.
Surely after Adam Duvall launched one into the tabled seats in right field for a grand slam in the very first inning, the Braves would be celebrating their first World Series title since 1995.
Then, Halloween took a frightening turn. Now, an entire city is on edge again.
Atlanta still leads the best-of-seven series 3-2, and can still wrap it up with one more win, but the teams are heading back to Texas for the final one or two games that will be needed to settle things.
“It would have been great; you always love to do it here,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “But I’ll take it anywhere. I don’t care where we’re at. If we win the World Series, it doesn’t matter where it is. I’d have loved to have done it in front of our fans. Hopefully, we can do it the next couple of days.”
Game 6 is Tuesday night in Houston.
