Halos can’t find big hit, fall in 13th to Astros

ANAHEIM — Carlos Correa’s pinch-hit, three-run blast cemented him as a hero Sunday afternoon as the Astros knocked off the Angels, 8-6, in 13 innings.

The win clinched a series victory for Houston, and the club’s fifth win in its last six games.

Correa, batting in place of left fielder Tony Kemp, took a 69-mph changeup from Angels reliever Mike Morin and deposited it a Statcast-projected 391 feet away from home plate into the Astros’ bullpen in left field, breaking a 5-5 stalemate that lasted since the top of the eighth inning.

Both sides had the bases loaded with less than two outs during extras, but it wasn’t until Correa’s blast that the winning run was finally able to push across.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Taking the fifth: Jake Marisnick, batting just .145 coming into Sunday, gave the Astros a 2-1 lead with a two-run home run to left-center in the fifth inning. It was the first Marisnick homer since Sept. 7, going 100 at-bats between home runs. Jose Altuve added a two-out, RBI single in the same inning to make it 3-1.

Just to be safe: The Angels rallied to take the lead in the seventh, leading off the frame with a C.J. Cron double off of Ken Giles. Cron scored the tying run on an Albert Pujols flare single to center, and Mike Trout scored the go-ahead run after Johnny Giavotella dropped down a perfectly executed safety squeeze bunt to make it 5-4.

Gut check: Angels closer Joe Smith …

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