The Houston Astros overpowered the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 of the best-of-seven World Series. Follow here for the latest news.<\/b>
\nGame 3 of the 2021 World Series shifts to Atlanta on Friday night as the Braves and Astros look to break a 1-1 series tie. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:09 p.m. ET. The weather forecast calls for temperatures in the high 40s with a chance of rain, and unlike Minute Maid Park, Atlanta\u2019s Truist Park does not have a retractable roof. It’s going to be a raw night. Two rookies will take the mound, with Ian Anderson (1-0,2.25 ERA in three postseason starts) going for the Braves against the Astros\u2019 Luis Garcia (1-1,9.64 ERA in three postseason starts). Anderson, who made his MLB debut late last year but didn\u2019t accumulate enough innings to officially lose the \u201crookie\u201d designation, was a breakout star during last year\u2019s postseason and owns a 1.47 ERA through seven career October starts. Garcia, who was roughed up in his first two postseason appearances this year, rebounded in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series to provide Houston with a strong one-hit performance over 5.2 scoreless innings. The shift to a National League park means there will be no designated hitter this weekend, possibly for the last time in World Series history. Look for that to be more of a drag on the typically DH-utilizing Astros, who will move Yordan Alvarez to left field and Kyle Tucker over to center as they look to keep their best bats in the lineup at the expense of their defense. The Braves, meanwhile, will sit power hitter Joc Pederson, who has been cold to start the series, in order to keep Jorge Soler\u2019s bat in right field. Neither of the first two games were particularly close. The Braves quickly pounced on Astros starter Framber Valdez in Game 1 en route to a 6-2 victory, and Houston cruised to a 7-2 triumph the next night. What else to watch for: Game 3 will also be notable in light of two non-baseball-related controversies: the decision earlier this year by Major League Baseball to move the All-Star Game away from Truist Park in protest over Georgia\u2019s restrictive voting law passed earlier this year, and an ongoing national debate about the appropriateness of Native American imagery by the Braves, including their longtime \u201cTomahawk Chop\u201d chant. The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros will face off tonight in Game 3 of the World Series. The Astros are appearing in their third World Series in five seasons, having won the 2017 crown but lost the 2019 title to the Washington Nationals in seven games. If you’re planning to tune in for the rest of the best-of-seven series, here’s a look at the schedule: All of the games will begin at 8:09 p.m. ET, except for Game 5, which will begin at 8:15 p.m. ET. The games will all be shown on TV by Fox. Reporting from CNN’s Jack Bantock contributed to this post. Native groups and advocates are demanding that the Atlanta Braves eliminate the \u00ab\u00a0Tomahawk chop\u00a0\u00bb symbol and gesture from its branding and game day traditions, saying the team is perpetuating racist stereotypes as the Braves take the national stage in the World Series. Leaders from the Native community said this week it’s past time for the Braves to join other professional sports teams such as the Cleveland Guardians and Washington Football Team in removing offensive imagery and mascots which they say reduce Native people down to caricatures. Cleveland, formerly the Indians, and Washington, formerly the Redskins, announced last year they were changing their mascots when the nation faced a reckoning on racism. That reckoning was a catalyst for not only sports teams, but also for companies like Quaker Oats, for example, which changed branding and logos that it believed promoted racist stereotypes. The Braves’ name and \u00ab\u00a0Tomahawk chop\u00a0\u00bb have long garnered criticism from Native groups and tribal communities, but the team has stopped short of eliminating the name and Tomahawk symbol or chopping gesture that has been a game day tradition since 1991. Last summer, the Braves said they were reviewing the \u00ab\u00a0chop\u00a0\u00bb amid calls from the Native community. The conversations about the \u00ab\u00a0chop\u00a0\u00bb were renewed earlier this week when Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred defended the Braves’ name and symbol saying the Native American community in the Atlanta region is \u00ab\u00a0wholly supportive of the Braves program, including the chop. For me, that’s the end of the story.\u00a0\u00bb The Braves did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the recent criticism and the findings in their review of the \u00ab\u00a0Tomahawk chop\u00a0\u00bb last year. Crystal EchoHawk, executive director and founder of IllumiNative, said the \u00ab\u00a0Tomahawk chop\u00a0\u00bb is both \u00ab\u00a0racist\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0dehumanizing\u00a0\u00bb for Native people and that the team needs to remove it. EchoHawk said the imagery used by the Braves and other sports teams has created toxic and harmful stereotypes of Native Americans. A lot of the imagery originated in Hollywood and doesn’t accurately represent Native people or culture, she said. \u00ab\u00a0There’s zero rationale for the team to hold on to this any longer,\u00a0\u00bb EchoHawk said. \u00ab\u00a0I think it says that the franchise is very much a part of perpetuating and condoning racism full stop.\u00a0\u00bb Read more here. Truist Park takes center stage tonight as the World Series shifts from Houston to Atlanta, with the Braves and the Astros looking to break the deadlock. Tied at a game apiece following Wednesday night’s dominant 7-2 Astros win \u2014 lit up by the ferocious pitching of right-hander Jos\u00e9 Urquidy \u2014 the Braves will be looking to capitalize on home advantage for Games 3,4 and 5. Home of the Braves since 2017, manager Brian Snitker expects the 41,000-seat capacity Truist Park \u2014 the crown jewel of The Battery Atlanta entertainment district \u2014 to be \u00ab\u00a0wild\u00a0\u00bb come first pitch. \u00ab\u00a0It’s been really, really good, from the first year that we played here,\u00a0\u00bb Snitker said during Thursday’s off-day. \u00ab\u00a0It’s a good product \u2014 an exciting team, a fun team to watch. I think the whole Battery, Truist Park concept and all led to this being a really fun place to come and watch a game. It’s wild in here. \u00ab\u00a0It has been all year really. We’ve had great crowds from the beginning of opening things up again. I didn’t see, but they said even the last couple of nights it’s just packed in the Battery, and I know one of the coach’s wives that couldn’t make the trip said she cracked her door and felt like we were playing the game here. \u00ab\u00a0It’s an exciting place to play, to be at. It will be wild tomorrow.\u00a0\u00bb Ian Anderson \u2014 the Braves’ Game 3 starting pitcher \u2014 echoed his manager’s excitement. \u00ab\u00a0I know that there hasn’t been a World Series game here for quite some time now,\u00a0\u00bb Anderson said. \u00ab\u00a0It’s been awesome. We’ve kind of taken it on as an identity, and the fans and you guys and the media too have played a big part in that. I think the fans are excited. I think Atlanta sports fans are always into this time of year. \u00ab\u00a0We’ve had some success, the teams and the city have had some success. So we’re looking to get it done for them.\u00a0\u00bb Read more here.<\/p>\n