In their first home postseason game in six years, the Rays tied a club playoff record with four home runs. Kevin Kiermaier had the biggest, a three-run shot off Houston starter Zack Greinke, who fell to 0-5 with a 5.50 earned run average in seven career games at Tropicana Field.

Ji-Man Choi, Brandon Lowe and Willy Adames also hit home runs for the Rays, who expect the Trop to be rocking again for Game 4 on Tuesday. Houston will hand the ball to Justin Verlander, who dominated the Rays in Game 1, with the hope that their ace can close out the series on three days’ rest. For the Rays, it will be a bullpen day, featuring a series of relievers starting with Diego Castillo.

The winner of this series will play the winner of the other division series between the Yankees and the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees, who are ahead in that series, are most likely pulling for the Astros to lose — or at least be drawn into a fight that could tax their pitching staff. Houston won 107 games during the regular season, the most in Major League Baseball, and holds home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Astros Manager A.J. Hinch said the decision to go with Verlander was not complicated. Verlander went 21-6 in the regular season with a 2.58 earned run average, and Tuesday will be his 27th postseason start. He is 8-0 in A.L.D.S. games.

“He’s one of the best pitchers in the world,” Hinch said. “It’s pretty simple.”

The Rays were the beneficiaries of a solid start by the former Astro Charlie Morton, who gave up a solo home run to Jose Altuve in the first inning, but nothing after, finishing with three hits allowed over five innings. He took the mound a little after 1 p.m. in an atmosphere that was jarringly different from virtually every other Rays home game during the regular season, when the stands are merely dotted with fans.