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With last night’s win the Atlanta Braves have a 3-1 advantage and three opportunities to lock up their first World Series championship since 1995, but manager Brian Snitker is not letting the pressure get to him, and he’s not getting over-confident about the position his club is in right now.
“I just want to win tomorrow,” Snitker said after the Braves took a commanding lead in their best-of-seven series with the Houston Astros.
“I don’t know how confident I am. I’m glad we are [up], quite honestly. I’d rather be up [3-1] than down [3-1], I guess. But I’ve been around too long to get ahead of myself.”
How will he and his club handle the pressure of knowing they are a win away from winning it all?
“They’ll handle it great,” Snitker told reporters.
“I’m happy for our city that they can go through this, experience this. What a great time of year.
“For the city, the Braves Country, to experience all this, for our players to experience it, it’s a win-win situation.”
And where do Dusty Baker’s Astros turn now to find confidence to keep fighting with their backs against the proverbial wall?
“You lean on your past,” Houston’s veteran skipper 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.”
There is, of course, pressure on Snitker’s club as well, as they focus on the difficult task of wrapping up a World Series win.
A win tonight and the Braves can avoid a trip back to the Astros’ home for a Game 6. Will the ‘Stros live to play another day and earn a trip back to Houston, or will the 117th World Series end tonight in Atlanta?