The scoring started early on both sides. Unfortunately, when the dust settled, the Angels had far more runs on the board. Angels 18 Astros 3.
The night began with patience on display. Astros hitters would sit back, watching Grayson Rodriguez start things by throwing 12 of his first 14 pitches for balls. The result was issued walks to Lamont Wade Jr and Yordan Alvarez. A single from Isaac Paredes would load up the bases and then the Angels compounded their issues with a throwing error by Vaughn Grissom. Moments later, a wild pitch would result with two runs on the board. However, that promising start would be short-lived.
For their part, the Angels would also score in the first inning. Wade Meckler led things off with a hit and was brought in on a Zach Neto single to right field. It was Neto’s 55th RBI of the year, and he was just getting started.
In the 2nd inning, the Angels would string together three straight hits to begin the frame. Moises Ballesteros doubled, and a single from Vaughn Grissom brought him home. Josh Lowe then singled and Tyler Heineman would lay down a sacrifice bunt which would score Grissom. The Astros would then take their turn with a miscue of their own, thanks to a throwing error by Peter Lambert which would expand LA’s lead to 4-2.
In the fourth inning, the Angels would extend their lead. Josh Lowe would start things with a single. Moments later, a double from Adam Frazier would bring Lowe home. Peter Lambert would then begin to labor, issuing walks to Meckler and Trout. Neto would then register another RBI, bringing home Frazier with a single which in turn knocked Peter Lambert out of the game. Lambert’s final line was 3.2 IP with 9 runs and 8 hits allowed. The early outing forced the Astros to once again tap into their bullpen early. Bryan King would inherit the bases loaded and wouldn’t be able to stop the bleeding. Ballesteros and Grissom would do more damage and when it was finished, they had put up 6 runs in the frame.
A scary moment occurred in the 5th when Wade Meckler was hit in the helmet by King. Meckler would have to leave the game. It went bad to worse, as LA would add four more runs, three of them coming on a moon shot to deep center from Zach Neto. 14 runs would be on the board after five innings, marking the most allowed in any single game this season by Houston. King would allow 5 runs on the night.
With the blowout firmly in effect, Tatsuya Imai would see action for only the third time in August. Zach Neto would add him to his personal hit parade with a two run, two out RBI double making things 16-2. Neto would go 5-6 on the night in total, driving in 7 RBI’s.
The loss means the Astros have now dropped four of their last five series, taking 2 of 3 from the Giants being the lone outlier. It also means that they’re back even at the .500 mark at 64-64. The best metaphor at this stage might be that the A.L. West race will be ultimately won by the fastest turtle.
Odds & Ends:
LaMonte Wade Jr started in place of Christian Walker, and hit leadoff as Jeremy Pena got the night off. Pena is day to day with a hand injury. Wade would strike out 3 times on the night. Borderlining on the ridiculous, Wade would actually come on to pitch the 9th inning. His first pitch was clocked at 40 mph. he next series of pitches resulted in a double by Peraza and a 2-run homer by Denzer Guzman.
The Astros will send Hayden Wesneski for the opener of the A’s series Friday Night. Houston is now 2-4 on this current homestand.
Houston has scored just 8 runs over their last 4 contests.
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