Correa’s walkoff homer keeps Astros in ALCS

SAN DIEGO — Carlos Correa homered with one out in the ninth inning and the Houston Astros beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 Thursday behind sensational pitching from five rookies to remain alive in the AL Championship Series.

Correa drove a pitch from Nick Anderson to straightaway center field, watched the ball for a few steps and then flung his bat. He was greeted at home by his ecstatic teammates. He’s only 3 for 18 in the series, but two of the hits are homers.

Houston won a second straight elimination game thanks in large part to starter Luis Garcia and four fellow rookies, who combined to hold the Rays to two runs and four hits through 6 2/3 innings before manager Dusty Baker finally turned to a veteran, Josh James. Ryan Pressly, the seventh Astros pitcher, got the victory.

The Astros pulled to 3-2 and forced Game 6 on Friday. In the ALCS for a fourth straight year, the Astros are trying to join the 2004 Boston Red Sox as the only teams to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a bestof-seven series. The Red Sox beat the New York Yankees in the ALCS and went on to win their first World Series in 86 seasons.

Otherwise, big league clubs leading 3-0 in a bestof-seven postseason series are 37-1.

The Astros, who got into the playoffs with a losing record, are trying to reach the World Series for the third time in four years. They are trying to get there in a year when they have been criticized for their role in a cheating scandal en route to the 2017 title that was uncovered last offseason.

Correa also hit a walkoff homer in Game 2 of the 2017 ALCS off Aroldis Chapman of the New York Yankees.

George Springer homered on opener John Curtiss’ first pitch and Michael Brantley broke a tie with a two-run single.

Tampa Bay’s Ji-Man Choi tied the game with a homer to deep right leading off the eighth.

Rookie Randy Arozarena continued his remarkable postseason by hitting his sixth homer in 12 games and Brandon Lowe also connected for the Rays, who need one more win to reach the Fall Classic for the second time in franchise history.

Springer led off the bottom of the first by sending Curtiss’ first pitch onto the second balcony of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building in the left field corner at Petco Park. On Wednesday night, he drove a two-run shot onto the third balcony to break a tie and lead the Astros to a 4-3 win.

It was his fourth homer this postseason and 19th of his career, the most in franchise history and tying Albert Pujols for fourth all-time.

Arozarena pulled the Rays to 3-2 with an opposite-field shot to right-center off Enoli Paredes with one out in the fifth. His 20 postseason hits are two shy of Derek Jeter’s rookie record in 1996.