HOUSTON — With every big swing, Yordan Alvarez is owning this October.

A ferocious comeback for the powerful slugger who struggled in Houston’s loss to the Atlanta Braves in last year’s World Series.

Alvarez and his mighty bat did it yet again, launching a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning off Seattle ace Luis Castillo that lifted the Astros over the Mariners 4-2 on Thursday for a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series.

“I call him Grande,” Manager Dusty Baker said. “He comes up big. We love having him at the plate. He likes to be in the big moment. His concentration and discipline is way ahead of his years.”

This performance comes after he batted just .100 (2 for 20) with no homers and six strikeouts as Houston lost the World Series in six games.

With all of baseball talking about his hitting, the 25-year-old was asked how he’d describe himself at the plate.

“I would say intelligent,” he said in Spanish through a translator. “Whenever I go up to the plate I try to visualize what the different kind of results that I could get up there when I’m hitting. If everything goes according to plan we’ll get a positive result.”

He’s already had plenty of those this postseason.

Alvarez was the Game 1 star with his gut-punch, three-run shot off reigning AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray with two outs in the ninth inning that gave the Astros an 8-7 win in a game where they’d trailed by four.

Castillo, acquired from the Reds near the trade deadline and coming off 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball against Toronto in the wild-card round, gave up an early home run to Kyle Tucker but little else as he took a 2-1 lead into the sixth.

But with two outs, Jeremy Peña, a former UMaine player, singled on a blooper that fell in between second baseman Adam Frazier and center fielder Julio Rodríguez. Castillo bent down and slapped his legs in disappointment as he watched the ball drop in shallow center.

“We just have to communicate a little better,” Frazier said.

That brought up Alvarez, who hit a 98 mph pitch tailing away to the opposite field, into the short porch in left to put the Astros on top 3-2.

“He threw a ball 3 or 4 inches off the plate and he hits a home run to the opposite field,” Manager Scott Servais said. “He’s that kind of talent.”

Added Rodríguez: “He’s one of the greatest hitters we have right now.”

Alvarez, who had 37 homers in the regular season, trotted around the bases as cameras panned to his Cuban parents, who are watching their first postseason series after arriving in Houston in August. The lefty pointed to them as he reached the plate before reenacting the powerful swing that has the Astros one win away from their sixth straight AL Championship Series.

“My family being here, I think that it does give me a lot of peace of mind having them here,” he said. “Yeah, definitely I do think that it’s helped my performance.”

Alvarez is the first player in postseason history to hit multiple go-ahead homers in the sixth inning or later with his team trailing.

There were two outs and a runner on first in the eighth when Seattle had surely seen enough of Alvarez leaving the yard. The Mariners intentionally walked him and Alex Bregman made them pay, adding some insurance when he singled to make it 4-2.

“That was some Barry Bonds-type stuff there,” said Baker, who managed Bonds in San Francisco. “That’s the ultimate respect.”

Houston starter Framber Valdez had a solid start, allowing four hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings. He had a different look than he did in his last postseason appearance after he and fellow pitcher Luis Garcia both got hair extensions this season.

Hector Neris got the win after getting the last out of the sixth inning to escape a bases-loaded jam. Bryan Abreu got the first two outs of the seventh before Rafael Montero came in and threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Ryan Pressly walked the leadoff batter in the ninth before J.P. Crawford lined into a double play. Rodríguez doubled after that, but Pressly struck out Ty France for the save. The Astros won despite issuing seven walks overall.

The Mariners will head back to Seattle for Game 3 Saturday in a huge hole in the best-of-five series as they host their first playoff game in 21 years.

“I do know how hard it is to win on the road and it will be very hard for them to win in Seattle,” Servais said. “I will tell you that. Because I know what it’s going to be like when our crowd gets going on Saturday.”

Alvarez has carried the Astros early in this division series, shouldering such a load that Houston catcher Martín Maldonado asked Alvarez after Game 1 if his back was sore because “you carry us as a team.” The slugger who’s been criticized for poor defense in the past has been making big plays in left field, too.

Alvarez grabbed a sharp liner hit by Eugenio Suarez to end the seventh. In the opener, he fielded a single by Suarez in the fourth and threw a perfect strike to Maldonado, who tagged out France at the plate.

Castillo yielded five hits and three runs with seven strikeouts in seven innings.

There was one out in the second inning when Tucker hit a slider from Castillo into the seats in right field to put Houston up 1-0.

Crawford doubled with two outs in the third. But second baseman Jose Altuve made a leaping throw after fielding a sharp grounder hit by Rodríguez that just beat him to first base to end the inning.

Suarez walked with one out in the fourth and Mitch Haniger doubled. Carlos Santana then hit a one-hopper that Valdez fielded cleanly toward the third base side, but his throw home was offline for an error that allowed Suarez to tie it at 1.

Santana was out on the play after getting caught in a rundown. Haniger scored when Dylan Moore singled to put the Mariners up 2-1.

Valdez walked Haniger on a full count with two outs in the sixth, Santana doubled and Moore drew a walk to load the bases and chase Valdez. Neris took over and retired Cal Raleigh on a groundout to escape the jam.

YANKEES-GUARDIANS: The second game of the American League Division Series was postponed because of rain the forecast and rescheduled for 1:07 p.m. Friday.

Major League Baseball called the game Thursday more than seven hours before the scheduled 7:37 p.m. pitch.

New York won Tuesday’s opener of the best-of-five series 4-1, and the rainout followed an unusual scheduled off day between Games 1 and 2.

With the rainout, the teams could play four days in a row.

Games 3 and 4 are scheduled to be played in Cleveland this weekend. If Game 5 is needed, it will be played Monday night at Yankee Stadium.

The winner advances to the AL Championship Series against Houston or Seattle.

Nestor Cortes (12-4) was scheduled to pitch Game 2 for the Yankees and 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber (13-8) for the Guardians.

TWINS: Carlos Correa, who has the right to void the final two years (and $70.2 million in salary) of his three-year contract, spent the summer hinting but never declaring his intention to do so.

But that changed this week, when Correa told El Nuevo Dia, a newspaper in his homeland of Puerto Rico, that he will indeed invoke the opt-out clause in his contract, saying “that’s the right decision.”

Correa has until five days after the World Series ends next month to make his decision official.

The decision is not a surprise, of course; the final two seasons of his contract were always understood to serve as an insurance policy for the two-time All-Star shortstop, to guarantee him a substantial income if he suffered a serious injury. But the opportunity to seek a multiyear contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars, perhaps even approaching Bryce Harper’s richest-ever $330 million deal, which was negotiated by Correa’s agent Scott Boras, is too valuable to pass up.

Throughout his summer with the Twins, Correa repeated several times his willingness to remain in Minnesota — but he also made it clear that the Twins would have to be among the highest bidders for him to do so.

“When I go to the mall, and I go to the Dior store, when I want something, I get it. I ask how much it costs, and I buy it,” Correa advised his team’s front office during the season’s final week. “If you really want something, you just go get it. I’m the product here. If they want my product, they’ve just got to come and get it.”

Derek Falvey, the Twins’ president of baseball operations, said Monday the Twins intend to pursue their shortstop, perhaps invoking “creative ways” to reach a deal. But it would require a commitment of a size the Twins have never made. Joe Mauer’s $184 million contract, over eight seasons, is the largest contract the Twins have ever signed.

ROCKIES: The Colorado Rockies parted ways with hitting coach Dave Magadan after a season in which the team averaged a franchise-low 4.31 runs per game.

The Rockies also reassigned third base/infield coach Stu Cole to a minor league position, the team announced. Colorado finished 68-94 and missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season.

Colorado’s offense struggled with slugger Kris Bryant limited to 42 games due to back soreness and plantar fasciitis. The team had a .254 average, which was the second-lowest in team history behind last season’s .249 mark. Their 149 homers also were the second-fewest over a full season in franchise history.

Manager Bud Black will return in 2023 for a seventh season. His staff includes bullpen coach Reid Cornelius, first-base coach Ron Gideon, assistant hitting coach Andy Gonzalez, assistant hitting coach P.J. Pilittere, bench coach Mike Redmond and pitching coach Darryl Scott.