Carlos Correa calls walk-off HR vs. Rays: 'I'm going to end it'

The Tampa Bay Rays had plans of moving on to the World Series on Thursday night, but the Houston Astros made sure it didn't happen. Carlos Correa, more specifically, was the one to save the day for Dusty Baker's squad in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. 

Correa launched a home run to center field with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Astros to a 4-3 win over the Rays in San Diego. While Correa didn't point to the stands and visibly call his home run, the 26-year-old told Baker and Jose Altuve that he'd end the game before he stepped up to the plate. 

"I was like, 'Wow, this feels good,'" Correa said, according to ESPN's Bradford Doolittle. "So when I went into that at-bat, I told [Jose] Altuve walking off the field, I said, 'I'm going to end it.'

"Anderson is a great pitcher and I don't mean no disrespect when I call my shot. It's just that after my second at-bat, I went in the cage. [Hitting coach Alex] Cintron called me and told me a couple of things that made my swing feel great."

After starting the series 0-3, the Astros became the fourth of 38 teams in postseason history to force a Game 6. Only the 2004 Boston Red Sox have forced a seventh game in this type of scenario. 

Correa has been one of Houston's best hitters this postseason, averaging .342 at the plate with 14 RBI and six home runs. If the Astros somehow force a Game 7, he'll likely be a big reason why.