ALCS: Carlos Correa’s Home Run Was Just in Time for the Astros


HOUSTON – There are some bat flips and runaway celebrations. And what’s next Houston Astros star Carlos Correa did it on friday night.

even those belittle the Astros perhaps one can appreciate Correa’s mix of cool, showmanship, and boundless emotion after he took a pivotal comeback in a 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series in the best of seven.

After blasting a ball into the left-court seats to break the tie, Correa stayed home to watch his own business. He threw his stick aside like a useless propeller. As Red Sox pitcher Hansel Robles watched the ball fly and catcher Christian Vazquez lowered his head, Correa pointed to his left wrist as he stared at the Astros bunker.

“When the playoffs start they always say to me, ‘Now it’s time to go there, it’s time to hit the homers, this and that. They told me to press the clock,” Correa said of his teammates. “They told me if you hit a homer today, hit them with ‘your time has come’. It happened naturally there.”

When the calendar turned into October, the man who had turned into a hitter had struck again. Buoyed by the help of longtime teammate and fellow season-ending hero Jose Altuve and a key assist from Cristian Javier, Correa and the Astros outlasted the Red Sox despite Boston’s Kiké Hernandez continuing their October tear.

With 4 out of 5 nights, including two home runs, Hernandez is averaging this season. 500 (14 for 28). “This is going to be a great series and it was a great Game #1.”

In the opening scene of the matchup of the two best offenses in baseball, the winner was the team that had enough shots to withstand the other’s batting attacks. After both teams’ first shots were knocked out on the third inning, it was Houston’s roster and the bullpen as the strongest.

“It’s a good baseball game,” said Red Sox Manager Alex Cora of the four-hour game that featured 16 pitchers, three leader changes and endgame rallies. “Two hits changed the course of the game.”

One of these swings, of course, belonged to Correa. The other was delivered by Altuve in the sixth inning that followed after the Astros’ starting pitcher Framber Valdez stumbled.

His colleague Chris Sale also spat, which set the stage for a bullfight. Seven-time All-Star Sale has continued to shoot inconsistently since returning from Tommy John’s surgery. When the situation looked like it was going to resolve for him, he showed enough cunning to allow only one of two and three hits. And he was saved by a dive catch by Hernandez with the bases loaded on the second inning that saved two runs.

On the plate, Hernandez provided another boost. He tied the game at 1 with a solo blast from Valdez on the third inning. Then the Red Sox took advantage of more Astros’ mistakes.

Short stop Xander Bogaerts walked and third baseman Rafael Devers single-handedly passed Valdez. When designated kicker JD Martinez burned a center ball, Altuve was unable to field him. Instead of a double game that ended on a kick, Bogaerts scored and everyone was safe. Right fielder Hunter Renfroe pushed Boston 3-1 with a double that later doubled over Devers.

After Valdez left, the Astros kept the bullfighting team the Red Sox under control long enough to make a comeback. And with the Astros offensive, the highest scoring baseball game of the regular season, it was only a matter of time.

Javier hit two goalless hits and hit four of the seven hits he faced. In the sixth half, Altuve atones for his mistake. With a runner, he battered Tanner Houck, who recently relieved a two-run blast, which has been a boon for the Red Sox bullfight.

Altuve’s home run not only tied the score to 3, but re-energized the 40,534 people who filled Minute Maid Park. It also marked a turning point for Altuve: He became the fourth person in major league history with 20 post-career home runs. Other names in this group are Manny Ramirez (29), Bernie Williams (22) and Derek Jeter (20).

“Derek Jeter is one of the greatest baseball players to ever play the game, and hitting Homer as many times as he does means a lot to me,” said Altuve.

Altuve, 31, didn’t turn his stick after running around his house. He’s been here before, of course – he’s been the Astros’ stellar second baseman during this five-year period of dominance and won a World Series title in the now-tainted 2017 season. And she has a very different personality than Correa, 27.

It showed in the next shot. Robles pumped 99-mph balls to get the top two of the seventh. As Correa watched, he said he had come over the pitches and visualized how he would swing at them. He aimed his shot through the middle and over the fence. And if Robles made a change, Correa thought he might still connect with that approach.

When Robles made a 2-2 substitution, Correa took a hit that drove the crowd and himself crazy. He also got ahead of his favorite player, Albert Pujols, while growing up to be the active leader (55) in end-of-season runs.

Flying around the bases, Correa waved for the crowd to make more noise. He brought his hand to his ear as he rounded the third bases. When he passed the home plate, he looked up at the sky.

A sacrifice fly that scored Altuve’s first baseman Yuli Gurriel in the eighth inning gave the Astros a cushion to withstand another blast from Hernandez in the ninth inning.

“You’re going to have great games when the two best teams in the American League go there,” Correa said, and later added, “I feel like it’s going to be fun to watch this whole series – no matter how many games we play. It’s going to be special and baseball fans are having a feast.” I am feeling.”



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