World Series: After taking no-hit bid into eighth inning, Atlanta wins Game 3 vs. Astros

ATLANTA — The philosophical battle between the analytics experts who influence virtually every element of what happens on a big-league diamond and those who prefer to have those numbers play a far less significant role ran headlong into each other in a remarkable Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night.

Atlanta rookie righthander Ian Anderson battled his command at times but had a no-hitter going through five innings against the Astros on a misty, 49-degree night at Truist Park.

But Atlanta manager Brian Snitker, 66, who proudly describes himself as far more "old school" than not, removed him after five innings, not wanting him to face the Astros’ potent lineup the dreaded third time through the order, a cornerstone aspect of analytics.

Atlanta lost the no-hitter in the eighth when Aledmys Diaz blooped a leadoff single to left, but most significant to Snitker and this city, it won the game, 2-0, in front of a thoroughly chilled but boisterous sellout crowd of 48,898.

Atlanta, playing in its first World Series since 1999, took a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven series, which will continue here Saturday night.

"It could have backfired, I guess," Snitker said with a smile. "I just thought at that point in time, in a game of this magnitude and all, that he had done his job. And we had a bullpen that all the guys we use had two days off, and they were only going to pitch an inning apiece, and that made them available for the next two games if it went south."

Smiling again, Snitker said that when Anderson was informed after the fifth that his night was done, the pitcher replied, "Are you sure?"

"Obviously, you want the chance to compete, especially on the biggest stage like this is," Anderson said. "Yeah, I knew he [Snitker] wasn’t going to budge. It’s hard to. You’ve got guys like Matzek and Minter and Luke and Will at the back end coming in, you can’t blame him for going to those guys. Those guys, time in and time out, get it done, and they did it again tonight."

A.J. Minter pitched a perfect sixth and Luke Jackson pitched a perfect seventh, handing the no-hitter off to Tyler Matzek.

When Diaz began the eighth with a soft fly to left, Eddie Rosario appeared as if he might have a play on the ball with a dive, but he pulled up at the last moment and the ball landed softly several feet in front of him. The speedy Jose Siri pinch ran, stole second with two outs and went to third when shortstop Dansby Swanson couldn’t dig Travis d’Arnaud’s throw out of the dirt. Michael Brantley popped to third to keep it 1-0.

Alex Bregman singled to start the ninth against Will Smith, but he retired three straight, with Kyle Tucker flying to Guillermo Heredia on the track in center to end it.

Atlanta outhit Houston 6-2, getting an RBI double by Austin Riley off Luis Garcia in the third and a 437-foot homer by former Met Travis d’Arnaud off Kendall Graveman in the eighth.

Atlanta, looking to win its first title since 1995, became the first team to shut out an opponent in the World Series since Cleveland blanked the Cubs, 1-0, in Game 3 at Wrigley Field in 2016.

Anderson still holds rookie status but has been a standout for two postseasons in a row. In lowering his ERA to 1.26 through his first eight playoff starts, he allowed three walks, struck out four and hit a batter in his 76-pitch outing.

But only one topic dominated the postgame news conferences — Anderson not being given a chance to see how far he could get in trying to become the first pitcher since Don Larsen in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series to throw a no-hitter on this stage (Larsen, of course, threw a perfect game).

"I think kind of the way the playoffs have been played and managed, I think you can’t fault Snit for making that move," Anderson said. "Like I said, those guys [relievers] post every time, so you’ve got to have the utmost trust in them. Ultimately, those are the guys that are going to get this thing done."

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.