4 Memorable Facts You Need to Know from the Astros’ Unbelievable Game 5 Win

As Carlos Correa said right after Thursday’s epic victory against the Rays, we are “running out of breath right now.”

The epic battle between the Astros and Tampa Bay has been forced to a sixth game after madness in Petco Park, a beautiful Game 5 of the ALCS that left us with at least four amazing stats to remember.

Begin it and end it with a bang

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

The Astros began Thursday’s game with George Springer’s leadoff home run. Nine innings after that, Carlos Correa ended with a walk-off dinger.

Thanks to those two solo shots, Houston became the first team in postseason history to begin and end a game with a four-bagger. An exclamation point to leave the series 3-2, still trailing.

Speaking of Correa...

You gotta love Carlos Correa’s goner and reaction. But beyond what the long ball meant for the team, the young Puerto Rican made history again. With six already, he is now the shortstop with most home runs in a postseason, surpassing Rich Aurilia (5, in 2002).

He’s just three four-baggers shy of Derek Jeter’s career record. The Yankees Hall of Famer collected 20 knocks over his 20-season career. Correa, despite being only 26 years old, is already at 17. We could even see Carlos tie Jeter if the Astros advance to the World Series.

Another exclamation point: Correa is the THIRD ballplayer in HISTORY with multiple walk-off home runs in the postseason, along with Bernie Williams and David Ortiz. This was also the sixth time the Astros end a playoff game with a dinger:

• 10/06/1981, Alan Ashby Vs. LAD, NLDS
• 10/18/2004, Jeff Kent Vs. STL, NLCS
• 10/09/2005, Chris Burke Vs. ATL, NLDS
• 10/13/2019, Carlos Correa Vs. NYY, ALCS
• 10/19/2019, José Altuve Vs. NYY, ALCS
• 10/15/2020, Carlos Correa Vs. TB, ALCS

Springer next to Pujols

If you share a stat with Albert Pujols, then you must be GOOD! That’s the case of Springer after his 19th postseason home run, during the first inning against Rays’ opener John Curtiss.

With the solo shot, he left Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson behind with 18 and tied Pujols with 19. That’s the fourth-best mark in history. Ahead of Springer and the future Hall of Famer are Jeter (20), Williams (22), and the all-time leader Manny Ramírez (29).

Precious youth

Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images

It couldn’t have gone better for the Astros’ pitching on Thursday considering all the circumstances. They used FIVE hurlers who qualify as rookies! In fact, four of the seven total pitchers to beat Tampa Bay are under 26 years old: Luis García (23), Blake Taylor (25), Andre Scrubb (25), and Enoli Paredes (25).

Not only Houston tied the record, but also that’s happened only five times in postseason history:

• SFG Vs. PIT, 10/03/1971
• LAD Vs. PHI, 10/10/2008
• DET Vs. TEX, 10/15/2011
• STL Vs. LAD, 10/11/2013
• STL Vs. LAD, 10/12/2013
• HOU Vs. TB, 10/15/2020

But the biggest takeaway from the Game 5 win? It’s that the Houston Astros are not done making history in 2020.