Major League Baseball
Houston 3, Tampa Bay 2
When: 8:10 PM ET, Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Where: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Rob Drake, 1B - D.J. Reyburn, 2B - Joe West, 3B - Clint Fagan
Attendance: 26001

HOUSTON -- The most obvious benefit to playing at home is having the final at-bat, and of late, the Houston Astros are maximizing that advantage to the fullest extent.

Shortstop Carlos Correa slapped a two-out single the opposite way to right field in the bottom of the 13th inning, lifting the Astros to their second to a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park.

Houston recorded its consecutive walk-off victory over Tampa Bay.

Correa drove home center fielder Colby Rasmus, who worked a one-out walk off Rays right-hander Matt Andriese (3-3) and advanced to third when Jose Altuve singled through the hole vacated by Rays shortstop Tim Beckham as he dashed to cover second base on a hit-and-run.

"It's really big," Correa said of the walk-off wins. "It gives us a lot of confidence, especially late in the game. We're playing good defense, the pitching, the bullpen is doing a great job, and we're coming up with clutch hits. So it's really important for the team to play late in the game like that because I bet that's how it's going to be in the postseason."

Andriese said of his final pitch, "Cutter away. You don't want to give (Correa) something good to hit. Base open and just threw him a pitch that he'll maybe pop up or hit a ground ball. Ground ball found a hole."

The Astros (66-55) claimed their third walk-off win in four games, with Altuve doing the honors in the ninth inning Sunday against the Detroit Tigers and Marwin Gonzalez drilling a leadoff homer in the 10th inning Tuesday night.

Houston right-hander Josh Fields (4-1) earned the victory by striking out both batters he faced in the top of the 13th, capping a stellar effort by a relief corps that allowed three baserunners over six shutout innings.

"It's been everybody out there picking everybody else up," said Fields, who celebrated his 30th birthday Wednesday. "And that's what's been pretty cool about this bullpen, it's not just a couple of people that are picking guys up and carrying the weight but everybody's picking everybody else up at different times throughout the year. It's been pretty cool to see, and hopefully we can keep it going."

One night after blowing a lead in the late stages, the Rays (59-61) did so again. Closer Brad Boxberger, who surrendered the walk-off homer to Gonzalez, was presented a 2-1 lead but opened the ninth by allowing a bloop double to Jed Lowrie. The Astros third baseman scored the tying run when designated hitter Evan Gattis dribbled a single to left.

That rally got left-hander Dallas Keuchel off the hook. Keuchel, who allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts in seven innings, was in line to take his first home loss in 13 decisions. Instead, his opportunity to match the franchise mark of 13 consecutive home wins set by right-hander Danny Darwin (1989-90) remains intact.

Keuchel faced just one batter over the minimum between the second and sixth innings yet carried a tenuous 1-0 lead into the seventh.

In the seventh, momentum swung thanks in large part to a fan down the first base line who interfered with a potential out. Astros first baseman Luis Valbuena tracked down a popup from Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe leading off the frame, but he failed to make the catch when he extended his glove into the stands and grazed the fan.

Forsythe subsequently singled. Two batters later, Beckham lined a triple to right-center field, scoring the tying run. First baseman James Loney followed with a sacrifice fly, knocking in Beckham for a 2-1 lead.

The Rays were in position to steal the lead thanks to the splendid pitching of rookie right-hander Nathan Karns, who surrendered a solo homer to Correa in the first inning and shackled the Astros thereafter in his six-inning outing.

"Karnsy was outstanding," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Their guy (Keuchel) was obviously very tough as advertised. Can't say enough about what Nate Karns did to bounce back and give us what he gave."

Karns allowed one run on six hits and one walk with eight strikeouts. However, like Rays starter Jake Odorizzi on Tuesday, his excellence yielded a no-decision.

NOTES: Rays LHP Jake McGee went to Florida on Wednesday for an examination of his left knee, which he tweaked Tuesday night. McGee worked a season-long 1 2/3 innings and threw a season-high 33 pitches in a blown save. He surrendered one run, three hits and two walks. ... Astros RHP Lance McCullers (5-4, 3.17 ERA) will start the series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday after getting five strikeouts in three innings for Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday night. He allowed just one hit in his first appearance since being optioned Aug. 3 for rest. ... The Rays optioned rookie LHP Enny Romero to Triple-A Durham and recalled rookie RHP Matt Andriese. Romero and Andriese shuttled back and forth from Durham a combined nine times this season, with Andriese starting his fifth tour.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Tampa Bay   Houston
Nathan Karns Player Dallas Keuchel
No Decision W/L No Decision
6.0 IP 7.0
8 Strikeouts 5
6 Hits 7
1.50 ERA 2.57
Hitting
Tampa Bay   Houston
Brandon Guyer Player Jed Lowrie
3 Hits 2
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
4 TB 3
.750 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Tampa Bay 10 0 14 .217 21 14 2 1 1 0
Houston 11 1 16 .239 12 19 3 2 2 0