The Houston Astros didn’t mount a dramatic offensive comeback so much as survive long enough for the Angels to hand them one. Down to their final strike in the ninth, Houston took advantage of a Los Angeles collapse to pull out a 6-4 victory at Angel Stadium.
Cristian Javier’s bullpen outing kept Houston within striking distance all night. After starter Tatsuya Imai recorded just two outs, Javier threw five scoreless innings, buying the offense enough time to find its opening in the ninth.
Houston’s rally began when Taylor Trammell was hit by a pitch from José FermÃn to lead off the inning. Christian Walker followed with a single, and Lucas Spence reached on a fielder’s choice when second baseman Vaughn Grissom’s throwing attempt on a potential double-play ball went awry, an error that allowed Trammell to score and cut the deficit to 4-3. After a popped-up bunt from Christian Vázquez, Jeremy Peña grounded into a fielder’s choice that got pinch-runner Nick Allen thrown out at home, but Angels manager Kurt Suzuki opted to intentionally walk Yordan Alvarez rather than let reliever Sam Bachman face him, loading the bases. Isaac Paredes fell behind 1-2 in his at-bat, one strike from ending the inning, before working the count full and getting hit by the ninth pitch to tie the game, a call the Angels challenged unsuccessfully. LaMonte Wade Jr. drew a five-pitch walk to force in the go-ahead run, and Jose Altuve reached on a fielding error by Bachman that let Alvarez come around to score, capping the four-run inning.
“Just proud of our effort, man,” Espada said. “We’re grinding through this.”
The rally salvaged a rough night for Houston’s rotation. Imai walked two batters and hit another before AJ Blubaugh entered and worked out of a bases-loaded jam. Blubaugh worked into the fourth before allowing a solo homer to Grissom, and Javier’s five innings on 70 pitches marked his longest outing since returning from a shoulder strain. Josh Hader worked around two walks in the ninth to close it out for his 13th save.
Houston got its only other offense off Angels starter Walbert Ureña, who allowed just two hits over six strong innings. Trammell’s solo homer in the fourth was the Astros’ first hit of the night, and Vázquez added a single in the fifth. Ureña finished with five strikeouts and lowered his ERA to 2.70 on the season.
The win improved Houston to 53-55, two games behind the first-place Texas Rangers in the AL West, and lifted the Astros to 4-2 in their last six games. Houston will look to carry that momentum into Tuesday’s matchup, with first pitch at 8:38 p.m. Central and Peter Lambert on the mound opposite Reid Detmers.
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