KYLE TUCKER

Late innings means late nights in the World Series, with many fans struggling to stay awake as the Braves and Astros play baseball’s most important games of the year.

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Carlos Correa had three hits, Martin Maldonado found three different ways to drive in runs and pinch-hitter Marwin Gonzalez blooped a tiebreaking, two-run single in the fifth inning to lead the Houston Astros over the Atlanta Braves 9-5 and cut their World Series deficit to three games to two.

There are plenty of stars at this World Series, from Freddie Freeman to Jose Altuve.

Time and time again, the Houston Astros put runners on base.

Atlanta Braves lefty Max Fried had a stretch in his first World Series start when he looked like the ace he has been most of the season.

Rookie Jose Siri sparked a team whose biggest stars took a while to shine, sending the Houston Astros to a 7-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves that evened the World Series at one game apiece.

Two years after winning an AL Rookie of the Year Award, Yordan Alvarez has an AL Championship Series MVP to add to his trophy case.

Boston's bats went quiet for the third straight game and the Red Sox bowed out of the AL Championship Series with a punchless 5-0 loss to the Houston Astros in Game 6.

Rookie Luis García showed the poise of an October ace, MVP Yordan Alvarez stayed hot at the plate and the Houston Astros earned yet another trip to the World Series, beating the Boston Red Sox 5-0 in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series.

Once again, in a key spot in October, the Boston Red Sox summoned Nathan Eovaldi from the bullpen in a tight game.

Jose Altuve hit a tying home run in the eighth inning and the Houston offense awakened with seven runs in the ninth on Tuesday night as the Astros came back to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-2.

Kyle Schwarber's grand slam helped the Red Sox rout the Houston Astros 12-3 take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven AL Championship Series.

The Boston Red Sox became the first team to slug two grand slams in a postseason game, with J.

Carlos Correa hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning that helped the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series.

Leury García and Yasmani Grandal homered, and Grandal’s borderline baserunning helped the Chicago White Sox top the Houston Astros 12-6 to stay alive in their AL Division Series.

Carlos Correa hit a two-run double during Houston’s five-run seventh inning, and the Astros beat the Chicago White Sox 9-4 for a 2-0 lead in their AL Division Series.

Carlos Correa hit his career-high 25th homer with a three-run shot and the Houston Astros clinched the AL West with a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Drew Rasmussen and three relievers combined for a three-hitter, Brandon Lowe and Ji-Man Choi both homered and the Tampa Bay Rays coasted past the Houston Astros 7-0, giving them the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs.

Jose Siri and Chas McCormick hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning, rallying the AL West-leading Houston Astros over the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 on Sunday. Carlos Correa also homered as the Astros held their comfortable division lead over Oakland. Houston won for the fourth time in five games and cut Tampa Bay’s lead for the best record in the AL to 3 ½ games.

Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 44th home run, but got tagged early by José Altuve, Alex Bregman and the Houston Astros in a 10-5 over the Los Angeles Angels.

Big league home run leader Shohei Ohtani is unbeaten in his last 13 starts going into this outing for the Los Angeles Angels against the AL West-leading Astros in Houston.

Jake Cronenworth hit a solo home run with one out in the ninth inning and the San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros 4-3 to take two of three from the AL West leaders.

Jake Meyers had the last of three singles as part of Houston’s eighth-inning rally against former teammate Joe Smith, scoring Kyle Tucker with the go-ahead run and sending the Astros over the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Monday night. Dylan Moore had a pinch-hit, two-run homer for Seattle in the sixth for a 3-2 lead.

Max Scherzer struck out 10 in his Dodgers debut and got plenty of offensive support as Los Angeles hit four home runs to defeat the Houston Astros 7-5, capping a contentious two-game series at Dodger Stadium.

José Altuve hit a grand slam in the sixth one inning after putting Houston ahead on a solo homer, and the AL-leading Houston Astros held off the San Francisco Giants 9-6 in a matchup of baseball’s top two teams.

Dylan Moore hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to lift the Seattle Mariners to an 11-8 comeback win against the Houston Astros.

Framber Valdez and the Houston bullpen took a no-hit try into the eighth inning and Astros beat Texas 4-1, sending the Rangers to their season-worst 11th straight loss.

Jose Altuve celebrated the 10th anniversary of his major league debut with a leadoff homer, and made the milestone twice as nice with a second shot on his next at-bat to lead the Houston Astros to a 9-3 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer to cap a startling six-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, setting off a frenzied celebration and lifting the Houston Astros over the New York Yankees 8-7.

Nestor Cortes and three relievers combined for a three-hitter and Brett Gardner and DJ LeMahieu drove in two runs each to lead the New York Yankees to a 4-0 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.

Jose Altuve belted a grand slam in the 10th inning and the Houston Astros, saved by Carlos Correa’s tying homer in the ninth, beat the Texas Rangers 6-3 to give manager Dusty Baker quite an exciting birthday gift.

Michael Brantley had his second four-hit game of the series and drove in four runs, and the Houston Astros had a season-high 20 hits and routed Minnesota 14-3 to take two of three from the Twins.

Kyle Tucker had a season-best three hits and tied a career high with four RBIs as the Houston Astros beat former bench coach Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox 11-2.

Fernando Tatis Jr. launched a monstrous, three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning to tie it, Wil Myers hit a three-run drive in the 12th and the San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros 11-8.

Jared Walsh homered and matched a career high with four hits, Justin Upton also connected and the Los Angeles Angels rallied in the sixth inning to beat the Houston Astros 5-4.

José Altuve responded to jeering fans by marking his 31st birthday with a go-ahead, three-run homer off Chad Green in the eighth inning, and the Houston Astros beat the New York Yankees 7-4 to avoid a three-game sweep.

Ramón Laureano hit a two-run homer and rookie Seth Brown’s first career home run helped the Oakland Athletics to a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros and a series victory.

George Springer and José Altuve delivered big hits, Framber Valdéz pitched six brilliant innings and the Astros beat the Tampa Bay Rays for the third straight time, 7-4 Friday to force a deciding Game 7 of the AL Championship Series. Despite blowing a 3-0 series lead, they remain one win from the second World Series in franchise history — and one loss from joining the 2004 Yankees in ignominy. Game 7 on Saturday night will feature the pitchers who started and finished Houston’s Game 7 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series. He has yet to win a World Series as a manager. As a player, he helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win four straight World Series games in 1981 after falling behind the New York Yankees 0-2.

(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)SAN DIEGO – Kevin Kiermaier and the Tampa Bay Rays — with big assists from two former Padres who know Petco Park's outfield well — are one win from the second World Series berth in franchise history. “We’ve played just tremendous defense all season long,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. Kiermaier, the longest-tenured Tampa Bay player, said it was “an amazing feeling” to be so close to going to the Fall Classic. Wendle lined a single off third baseman Alex Bregman's glove to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead. Paredes hit Kiermaier on the hand to load the bases and then grazed Willy Adames on the pinkie with a pitch to bring in another run.

The Houston Astros watch the top of the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of a baseball American League Championship Series, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in San Diego. Tampa Bay limited the Astros' star-studded lineup to nine hits — but just one for extra bases — in the Rays' 2-1 victory to open the ALCS at Petco Park on Sunday night. The Astros got no more big hits against Blake Snell and the Rays' justifiably vaunted bullpen. But with big scoring opportunities in the final two innings of the ALCS opener, the Astros couldn't capitalize — and the last two hurt the most. The Astros scored first in all four games against Oakland in the ALDS, and they did it again in Game 1 of the ALCS.

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker Jr. signals as he walks to the mound to change pitchers during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Roger Steinman)LOS ANGELES – If there’s a universally recognized good guy among the generally reviled Houston Astros, it’s Dusty Baker. Next up, starting Sunday in San Diego, is either the New York Yankees or Tampa Bay Rays with a berth in the World Series at stake. If the Astros get that far, Baker would have a shot at being the second Black manager to win a World Series, joining Cito Gaston. As manager, Baker has been made to answer for the Astros' past transgressions, even though he wasn't around.

A look at what's happening around the majors today:___WINNER-TAKE-ALLYankees ace Gerrit Cole and towering Tampa Bay righty Tyler Glasnow will both pitch on short rest in the deciding Game 5 of their AL Division Series. Cole earned the victory in Game 1 despite allowing two home runs, and he’ll appear on three days’ rest after throwing 97 pitches. The 6-foot-8 Glasnow will be pitching on two days’ rest after striking out 10 in Game 2. “I haven’t really talked about innings or anything like that,” Glasnow said after New York won 5-1 Thursday to force Game 5. The Rays are trying to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2008, when they made it to their only World Series.

The Astros and A's combined for 24 homers — 12 each — the most in a postseason series of five games or less. The Astros' sign-stealing scheme used during their title run was revealed last year by former teammate and current A's pitcher Mike Fiers, who didn't pitch in this postseason series. The scandal led to season-long suspensions of Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch, who both were fired. Frankie Montas couldn’t withstand Houston’s onslaught in the fourth, when the Astros sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five. BACK TO THE ALCSThe Astros became the third team in AL history since 1969 to reach four straight AL Championship Series.

Oakland Athletics' Chad Pinder, right, celebrates with manager Bob Melvin after the Athletics defeated the Houston Astros in Game 3 of a baseball American League Division Series in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. And just in case Laureano's words did not get the message across, he ripped a double as the A's got a pair of sacrifice flies in the eighth to rally past the Houston Astros 9-7 on Wednesday and avoid elimination in their AL Division Series. “It was awesome.”Houston leads the best-of-five series 2-1 and can advance to its fourth straight AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 on Thursday. Pinder hit a first-pitch slider to the opposite field for Oakland's fifth homer, a drive chased by right fielder Kyle Tucker until he ran out of room at the short wall. Houston took a 7-4 lead with five runs in the fifth, when the Astros sent 10 batters to the plate.

Houston Astros' Carlos Correa, left, celebrates with George Springer after they defeated the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of a baseball American League Division Series in Los Angeles, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)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. “When you get the leadoff guy (Springer) getting on base every single time, good things are going to happen. Altuve's line-drive single to left scored Maldonado and Springer to put the Astros back in front, 6-5. Chris Bassitt put the potential tying and go-ahead runs on in the fifth with back-to-back singles by Springer and Altuve.

The Atlanta Braves won 1-0. Eight postseason games, all set to start in a span of around 10 hours. For much of the 20th century, baseball had a maximum of seven games in any single postseason. “Our country needs it, it’s very therapeutic,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before his team's night game against Milwaukee. The Marlins have never lost a postseason series.

"But what are they going to say now?”Nine months after Houston's rules-breaking, sign-stealing system was revealed, the Astros advanced to the Division Series in Los Angeles. The Twins are 0-18 in the playoffs since winning Game 1 of their Division Series at the New York Yankees on Oct. 5, 2004, a total of seven rounds lost. Since that date, the Astros are 43-35 in postseason play, winning 10 of 15 rounds with three trips to the World Series. In a three-game division series sweep by the Yankees last year, the Twins totaled seven runs and 22 hits. Baldelli declined to confirm whether Buxton was experiencing a recurrence of concussion symptoms that kept him out of the last two regular season games.

The Astros (29-29) just had to wait a couple of extra hours to wrap up second place in the AL West, which became official with the Angels' 9-5 loss. Now Houston can start planning for a wild-card matchup that could be against Oakland, which ended a three-year run atop the AL West for the defending AL champion. Nick Solak matched Bregman’s sacrifice fly to get the last-place Rangers even in the bottom of the 10th. STANDOUT TEXAS ROOKIERookie catcher Sam Huff homered twice, his second and third, for the first two Rangers runs. UP NEXTThe Astros were waiting for the LA outcome to decide who would start the third game in the four-game series to finish the regular season.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts, right, gets congratulations from Enrique Hernandez, after Betts hits a two-run home run against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)LOS ANGELES – Mookie Betts’ two-run homer highlighted a four-run fifth inning, Chris Taylor added a three-run shot, and the Dodgers defeated Houston 8-1 on Sunday night with angry Los Angeles fans letting the Astros have it again. For the second straight day, the Astros were bombarded with messages towed by planes over Dodger Stadium. Go Dodgers” and “Hey Astros Try Stealing This Sign!” read others. Dodgers: Begin a three-game series at San Diego on Monday in a showdown between the NL West's top teams.

One out later, Adell lined a two-run single to right off Enoli Paredes (1-2) for his first game-ending hit. Kyle Tucker homered and drove in three runs for the Astros, who lost in walk-off fashion for the second straight game. With two outs and runners on second and third, Martin Maldonado hit a two-run single to right-center. After Yuli Gurriel's two-run single in the third, Tucker extended the lead to 4-1 with a run-scoring infield single. It is the seventh game to start with triple-digit temperatures since the ballpark opened in 1966.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez (59) throws against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)HOUSTON Framber Valdez struck out a career-high 11 in seven strong innings and Carlos Correa drove in three runs as the Houston Astros snapped a three-game skid with an 11-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. Angels star Albert Pujols passed Alex Rodriguez on the career RBIs list with a single for his 2,087th run batted in. An RBI single by Josh Reddick with one out in the inning made it 2-0. The Angels cut the lead to 2-1 on an RBI single by Fletcher in the third.