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The World Series starts this week and the San Francisco Giants — in an unprecedented move — hired new manager Tony Vitello Wednesday, so perhaps it’s fitting that there’s a decided baseball theme surrounding the weekly evolution of the 49ers.

No matter how hard a pitcher throws his fastball, major league hitters will time it up if he throws it too often.

No matter how well the 49ers block for their outside-zone rushing attack, NFL defenses will blow it up if they run it too often.

In both cases, a countermove in necessary.

In baseball, that’s an off-speed pitch. And in football, where the 49ers ranked near the bottom of the NFL’s rushing rankings entering Sunday’s victory, the same terminology can apply.

“It is a changeup,” right tackle Colton McKivitz said in the locker room Wednesday, referring not to the baseball pitch but rather to the 49ers’ prolific pivot away from the outside zone over the past two weeks.

In their 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, the 49ers averaged 7.1 yards per carry over the nine times they ran ‘Power’, the most famous type of gap scheme play — and the downhill hat-on-hat antithesis of outside-zone blocking, which eschews power dependence for flow and timing.

The 49ers have called gap scheme concepts on about 60% of their runs over the past two weeks, according to Sumer Sports. That’s their highest rate over any two-game stretch under coach Kyle Shanahan. Prior to Week 6, the inverse had applied: The 49ers called zone-blocking concepts on 60% of their runs.

“That was a top-3 most fun game for me,” 49ers right guard Dominick Puni said.

Offensive linemen typically relish in opportunities to manhandle their opponents. Power can be the most direct way to do that.

“My favorite thing is moving a man from Point A to Point B against his will,” tight end George Kittle — who takes in pride in blocking like a lineman — has repeatedly said over the years.

Not coincidentally, the 49ers’ run game surged alongside Kittle’s return to the lineup. He moved several men against their will on Sunday, including Atlanta linebacker Christian Elliss on a thunderous lead block ahead of running back Christian McCaffrey.

The 49ers ran for 174 yards on 35 carries, good for 4.5 yards a pop — worlds ahead of the 3.1 yards per carry that they’d mustered over the first six games.

It’s safe to say that Shanahan, a hard-throwing righty, threw a nasty changeup. Or maybe it was a slider.

Now, it’s important to not get carried away with the short-term shift. The 49ers will almost certainly remain an offense that primarily uses the perimeter moving forward.

“Our outside zone is everything,” McKivitz said. “Depending on the defense, it sets up the gap scheme.”

But defenses needed to be thrown off the scent of finesse, especially with the 49ers’ receivers not blocking as well as they had in the past. The recent counterpunch was necessary.

“I’ll take it any day,” McKivitz said, chortling a bit when he heard the 49ers’ prolific running stats against Atlanta.

Consider it a perfect prelude to the 49ers’ next challenge, which comes Sunday in Houston. The Texans boast the NFL’s No. 1 defense, but they have been susceptible to the run — ranking No. 18 there in expected points added (EPA) per play.

The 49ers’ run-game revival is what make this offense, even in its injured state, a sustainable operation even against the league’s top defenses.

• Quarterback Brock Purdy looked more involved in practice than last week, although he was still a limited participant.

“It is different dealing with a toe,” Shanahan said. “But I’d say it’s steadily getting better each week.” 

• Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir missed practice with a quad injury, but Shanahan hopes he’ll be back out on the field Thursday. Lenoir did rehab work with receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee), who wasn’t yet back at practice.

“[His recovery] is just not going as fast as we wanted,” Shanahan said of the wide receiver. “But nothing new has happened.”

• The 49ers opened the practice window for offensive lineman Spencer Burford, who’s on injured reserve with a knee injury. He can potentially fill in at either tackle or guard.

The team is definitely interested in experimentation at left guard, where Nick Zakelj actually replaced rookie Connor Colby for four snaps on Sunday. But then starting center Jake Brendel got hurt. Matt Hennessy replaced him, and Zakelj — because he was therefore the last 49ers’ active lineman capable of playing center — exited the game in case he’d be needed at that position.

The 49ers couldn’t afford to run out of centers. That position is critical communication component of the entire blocking effort.