Rays near Series

Tampa Bay capitalizes on Altuve’s error for a five- run sixth inning and a 3- 0 advantage over Astros.

Tampa Bay scores f ive in sixth inning to take 3- 0 lead over Houston.

SAN DIEGO — Joey Wendle hit a go- ahead, two- run single two batters after another critical error by Jose Altuve, and the Tampa Bay Rays rallied for a 5- 2 win against the Houston Astros on Tuesday night that moved them within one victory of the second World Series appearance in franchise history.

Tampa Bay took a 3- 0 lead in the best- of- seven AL Championship Series at Petco Park. Tyler Glasnow will try to deliver the Rays their first pennant in 12 seasons Wednesday night when he opposes Zack Greinke.

Tampa Bay reached the World Series in 2008 before losing to the

Philadelphia Phillies.

“There’s a very confident mindset with this group,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We’ll stay consistent and do everything we can behind Glasnow to make plays.”

The Astros fell apart in the sixth, when the Rays sent 11 batters to the plate and scored f ive runs on four hits, two hit batters and Altuve’s error at second base.

Altuve also made two throwing errors in Game 2 of the ALCS, contributing significantly to the Astros’ 4- 2 loss. His three errors in the last two games led to five runs while prolonging rallies that would have been largely shut down by solid defensive play.

“Nobody feels worse than Jose,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said, “because he takes it very serious and takes it to heart. He’s one of ours, and we’ve all been through this before. Not in this spotlight like this. It hurts us all to see him hurting.”

Baker also said Altuve will play second base when the Astros attempt to avoid elimination: “Without a doubt. That doesn’t help us [ to make a change], and it would certainly kill him.”

Losing pitcher Jose Urquidy held Tampa Bay to two singles through f ive scoreless innings before Randy Arozarena singled leading off the sixth. Brandon Lowe hit a grounder to Altuve, whose throw to second skipped past shortstop Carlos Correa and into left field.

Enoli Paredes replaced Urquidy, and Yandy Diaz singled to load the bases. Wendle lined an opposite- field single off third baseman Alex Bregman’s glove to give Tampa Bay a 2- 1 lead.

Manuel Margot laid down Tampa Bay’s f irst sacrifice bunt of the season. Paredes hit Kevin Kiermaier with a pitch to load the bases and then hit Willy Adames with a pitch to bring in another run and Hunter Renfroe brought in two more with a f lare double.

“We’re in a good spot, but we’re not counting anything yet. We know we have another ballgame to win,” Wendle said.