HOUSTON -- There is just no keeping down the Kansas City Royals, as a five-run eighth inning gave them an improbable 9-6 victory to stave off elimination in the American League Division Series.

The series now shifts back to Kansas City on Wednesday for a deciding Game 5.

It was shades of last year's AL wild-card game, when the Royals rallied for three runs in the eighth inning and one in the ninth against the Oakland Athletics to force extra innings. They won the game with a pair of runs in the 12th and advanced all the way to Game 7 of the World Series.

Ben Zobrist of the Royals celebrates scoring a run in the eighth inning against the Astros. Eric Christian Smith/Getty Images

The Royals sent 11 batters to the plate in the eighth inning Monday, with Astros rookie shortstop Carlos Correa making the play that loomed large. Correa misplayed a potential double-play grounder from Kendrys Morales that instead turned into a two-run miscue. Alex Gordon drove in the go-ahead run later in the inning on a ground out.

Before the error, Correa was having a coming-out party on the national stage, hitting two home runs and collecting four RBIs. His home run in the seventh, followed by one from Colby Rasmus, gave the Astros what appeared to be a commanding 6-2 lead.

Salvador Perez had given the Royals an early lead on a two-run home run in the second inning, but the Astros came back methodically behind their impressive rookie, Correa.

Royals starter Yordano Ventura was solid but not dominating, giving up three runs on four hits over five innings with eight strikeouts. Wade Davis closed out the victory with a six-out save.

Thumbs up: Davis has shown that he is every bit as good as Greg Holland at closing out victories with his two-inning save. He officially took over the closer role toward the end of the season, as Holland needed Tommy John surgery, but he had actually been saving games for much of the season, as Holland was off and on while trying to work his way through his arm issues.

Thumbs down: Ryan Madson has been a key member for the Royals’ bullpen, but Monday was not his day. With Kansas City clinging to life in the seventh inning, Madson gave up three runs on the back-to-back home runs from Correa and Rasmus. The Astros tagged him for four hits total. He returned to the big leagues this year after not pitching since 2011 and was a key member of the Royals bullpen, especially after Holland went down.

What’s next: Johnny Cueto will get another big-game chance for the Royals when he takes the mound in Game 5. The midseason acquisition stumbled in the second half, but he looked to be much improved as the postseason drew near. But he was merely mediocre in giving up four runs on seven hits over six innings of Game 2, a contest the Royals rallied to win.