ATLANTA – Just in time for the Houston Astros and their fans, Carlos Correa and Co. broke out the bats.
Because if the lineup had waited any longer to wake up, this World Series would have been over.
Staggered by Adam Duvall’s grand slam in the first inning, Correa and Alex Bregman ended their slumps in a hurry. They kept swinging, too, refusing to let their season slip away and rallying past the Atlanta Braves 9-5 early Monday to cut their deficit to 3-2 in the best-of-seven set.
The Braves might not admit it was a deflating defeat; 66-year-old manager Brian Snitker is too steady and savvy for that. But by any measure in the age of analytics, this had to sting.
“I’m just glad we get to go back to Houston. That was our goal today,” Astros skipper Dusty Baker said.