CORREA’S BLAST MEANS PLAY ON
Walk-off home run keeps Astros alive for Game 6 vs. Rays
A trip to the World Series was on the line when Tampa Bay and Houston met Thursday afternoon in Game 5 of the ALCS.
There was no buzz or excitement in the air at Petco Park, however. And the fact that no fans were allowed into the ballpark wasn’t the main reason for that.
With so much at stake, one might expect a classic pitching matchup.
And what do we get? Tampa Bay’s John Curtiss vs. Houston’s Luis Garcia.
Sandy Koufax vs. Bob Gibson or Roger Clemens vs. Pedro Martinez, this was not.
Curtis was making his fourth major league start. His previous three lasted 11⁄ 3, 11⁄ and two-thirds of an 3 inning.
He was up two starts on Garcia, however, who had never played above Class A before making five September appearances (one start) this season for the Astros.
Both pitchers watched most of this game from the dugout, their days done be-
fore the third inning had arrived.
It was left to the bullpens to battle it out and one batter to produce the drama. That would be Houston’s Carlos Correa, whose 416foot walk-off home run to center field delivered a 4-3 win for the Astros. The stands were silent as the Astros players greeted Correa at the plate, showering the shortstop with shouts of excitement and streams of water.
“We had a meeting after we lost that third game. We said, ‘Hey, we’re not ready to go home, so we’ve got to do something about it,’ ” Correa said. “But we’ve still got a long ways to go. We’ve got to keep taking care of business.”
Correa took a dozen steps down the line watching his work before f lipping his bat and circling the bases. He removed his helmet after coming around third base and shot it like a 20-foot jumper before stomping on the plate.
Correa was only fulfilling a promise to his manager.
“Carlos told me before he went out there, ‘Walk-off,’ ” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “I said, ‘ Go ahead, man.’ Then I said a prayer to my dad and my brother and say, ‘Lord, please let us walk off.’ ... That was sweet as it gets right there.”
Baker said his prayer needed to be answered because if the game went extra innings he was going to have to use Framber Valdez, which would make the lefthander unavailable to start Game 6.
“Things couldn’t have worked out any better,” Baker said.
Three straight losses seem a distant memory after two straight wins. This victory enabled Houston to extend the series to a Game 6 this afternoon at Petco and keep alive the Astros quest of reaching the World Series for the third time in four years.
Houston is trying to join the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who beat the Yankees, as the only teams to complete a comeback from an 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series. Overall, teams are 1-37 when faced with that challenge.
Tampa Bay remains a win away from returning to the World Series, which begins Tuesday, for the first time since 2008.
Houston emphatically — and quickly — stated that it intended to stick around awhile longer in the ALCS.
Curtiss’ first pitch was a 94 mph fastball that Houston leadoff hitter George Springer hit off the second balcony of the Western Metal Supply Co. building for a 1-0 Astros lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Tampa Bay made it 1-1 when Brandon Lowe greeted Houston reliever Blake Taylor with a homer to center field leading off the third inning.
Houston came right back in the bottom of the third, with Michael Brantley stroking a two-out single to right-center off reliever Josh Fleming that scored two runs for a 3-1 lead.
Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena, the hottest hitter in the playoffs, made it a one-run game with a homer one out into the fifth that boosted his postseason average to .444. It was the sixth home run of the postseason for Arozarena, tying the rookie record set by Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria in 2008.
It stayed that way until Tampa Bay’s Ji-Man Choi led off the eighth with a long home run off Josh James.
Houston right fielder Josh Reddick didn’t even look as the ball left the ballpark. Choi’s bat f lipped high and far, landing on the doorstep of the Convention Center.
James left two batters later with an apparent leg injury suffered after starting a double play.
Tampa Bay has made a living off this “opener” thing, sending out someone like Curtiss who makes a quick exit after getting things started.
The Rays were 65-42 since debuting the opener on May 19, 2018. That included 6-1 this season. Make that 6-2.
After Alex Bregman led off the bottom of the ninth with a pop out to second base, Correa stepped to the plate against the Rays’ Nick Anderson and launched an 96 mph fastball over the fence. Game over.
That made a winner of reliever Ryan Pressly, the seventh Houston pitcher in the game.
It wasn’t a classic, but it did mean there’s a tomorrow for the Astros.