Astros down but not out

MANILA, Philippines — The Houston Astros picked a fine time to hand the Atlanta Braves their first home loss of the postseason.

Fresh off overcoming a grand slam in the first inning, the Astros will aim to stave off elimination again on Tuesday night when they host the Atlanta Braves in Game 6 of the World Series.

A winner-take-all Game 7, if needed, is scheduled for Wednesday night.

The Astros don’t have to look too far to find reasons for optimism despite trailing 3-2 in the Series.

“We were down 3-0 last year (to the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 American League Championship Series); we forced a Game 7,” Astros shortstop Carlos Correa said after Sunday’s 9-5 win in Atlanta. “Now we (were) down 3-1; why can’t we force a Game 7 again?”

Correa collected three hits and two RBIs Sunday for Houston, which would become the first team since the 2016 Chicago Cubs to rally from a 3-1 series deficit and win the Fall Classic.

Yuli Gurriel also had three hits Sunday to improve to 19-for-57 (.333) this postseason.

“The pressure’s still on us because they’ve got the lead,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “They’ve got to win one, and we’ve got to win two. But the fact is we are going home.”

After splitting a pair of bullpen games, the Braves will turn to Max Fried to start on Tuesday. The left-hander has answered two strong playoff starts with two porous ones en route to posting a 1-2 record with a 5.40 ERA this postseason.