May 6, 2017

Andrelton Simmons delivered an infield single in the bottom of the 9th inning, scoring Kole Calhoun, and the Angels defeated the Astros 2-1 on Saturday night at the Big A in walk off fashion.

Simmons hit a chopper high off the plate to short, which gave Carlos Correa trouble.  The Astros shortstop attempted to throw home, but it was in not nearly in time to get Calhoun at the plate.

Calhoun led off the 9th inning against Chris Devenski with a walk.  Then Albert Pujols hit a single to left field, which allowed Calhoun to make it all the way to 3rd base, after some aggressive running by the Angels right fielder.  Luis Valbuena struck out, but that set the stage for Simmons heroics.

Bud Norris (1-1) picked up the win after pitching a scoreless 9th inning.  Devenski (2-2) took the loss for the Astros, after giving up the game-winning run in the 9th.

Both teams exchanged runs in the first two innings.  Carlos Beltran doubled in Correa in the first inning, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead.

The Halos response in the 2nd after Cameron Maybin produced an RBI groundout, which scored Valbuena.

J.C. Ramirez did not factor in the decision, but had a strong start.  He pitched 6 innings, giving up the lone run in the 1st inning, while yielding 8 hits, striking out 2 and walking 2.  Blake Parker, David Hernandez, and Bud Norris combined to give up just 1 hit over the last 3 innings.

The Astros got 7 strong innings from Lance McCullers.  He allowed just 1 run on on 2 hits, striking out 4 Angels, but did not factor into the decision either.

Mike Trout was a late scratch in this one with a tight hamstring.  The Angels improved their record to 16-16 on the season.

The rubber game of the 3-game set will be on Sunday afternoon at the Big A.  Matt Shoemaker (1-1; 4.78 ERA) goes to the mound for the Halos, while the Astros will counter with Mike Fiers (0-1; 5.68 ERA).