Correa, Springer, Altuve rally Astros past A’s in AL Division Series opener

LOS ANGELES — A home run derby broke out during a hot, dry day at Dodger Stadium, and suddenly the Houston Astros have their swing and swagger back.

Carlos Correa homered twice and drove in four, Jose Altuve hit a goahead, two-run single during Houston’s four-run sixth inning and the Astros rallied to beat the Oakland Athletics 10-5 in the opener of their AL Division Series on Monday.

“I love October baseball,” Correa said. “The energy is just different. I know there’s no fans this year, but the energy to know you win or go home is what drives me.”

George Springer, MVP of the 2017 World Series, had four hits for Houston, which trailed 3-0 and 5-3.

“To get down early and not quit and fight hard and come out with a win in the first game is obviously huge,” Springer said.

The Astros rallied with two outs in the sixth against Oakland’s vaunted bullpen to take control of Major League Baseball’s first neutral-site postseason game resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Houston pounded out 16 hits in all as the A’s ran through eight pitchers.

“As the game got deeper,” Springer said, “the at-bats got better.”

Houston’s hitters hadn’t looked quite the same this year, the first since their sign-stealing scheme was unveiled. Altuve, Correa and others slumped during the regular season, and the team hit a combined .194 during a two-game sweep of Minnesota in the wild-card round.

“You can’t judge this offense by 60 games,” Correa said. “When you get the leadoff guy (Springer) getting on base every single time, good things are going to happen. When he goes, we go as a team.”

The Astros’ strut emerged at the same ballpark where they beat the Dodgers to win the 2017 World Series in seven games, helped by their signstealing scandal that rocked baseball and drew the ire of rival players and fans.

“The way people want to perceive us is fine,” starter Lance McCullers Jr. said. “People are allowed to feel any way about the Houston Astros.”

After two quick outs in the sixth, Houston’s Josh Reddick reached when shortstop Marcus Semien booted a grounder for a costly error that allowed the Astros to extend the inning.

“They played the later innings better than we did,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. “We just didn’t have the at-bats that we typically do at the end of the game.”