World Series Game 5 - Atlanta hosts the Houston Astros

This could be it.

This could be the final game of the 2021 Major League Baseball season.

This year gave us fans back in stadiums and a 162 game regular season again after a 2020 year from hell on all fronts. It also gave us what may be the final year of baseball as we have come to know it, as the Collective Bargaining Agreement sunsets and the league and players association will be tasked with sort out a new future for the sport.

We witnessed the return of the Joey Votto we’ve loved, and the Rookie of the Year debut of Jonathan India for the Reds. The goddamn St. Louis Cardinals went on an epic win streak to sneak into the playoffs. Juan Soto and Vlad Guerrero, Jr. destroyed baseballs at a prolific rate, Luis Urias and Robbie Ray finally lived up to the hype behind them, Bryce Harper put up another MVP-caliber year, the San Diego Padres somehow imploded, and Shohei Ohtani showed us a version of the sport we have never before witnessed.

We’ve watched this Atlanta Phoenix reemerge after losing Ronald Acuña Jr to a devastating knee injury to be on the cusp of the biggest win for their franchise in a quarter-century. We’ve seen Dusty Baker get back to the game’s biggest stage once again, though he now sits just one loss away from another frustrating close miss.

Game 5 of the World Series between the Astros and Atlanta is set for an 8:15 PM ET start tonight, and you’ll be able to watch it on FOX. Tucker Davidson will go for Atlanta, while lefty Framber Valdez gets the nod again for Houston.

Lineups are below, and here’s to the year if this is, indeed, it.

Atlanta Lineup

Houston Lineup