May 7, 2017
Jose Altuve and Evan Gattis hit home runs and the Astros defeated the Angels 5-3 in the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Anaheim.
The Angels played without Mike Trout for the 2nd straight game, sitting out with a sore hamstring, and this time Houston took advantage.
The Halos jumped out to a 2-0 lead in this one after a solo blast from Yunel Escobar in the 1st inning, followed by a Martin Maldonado RBI single in the 2nd.
Angel starter Matt Shoemaker ran into trouble in the 3rd inning. With one out, Alex Bregman doubled, and after Jake Marisnick struck out, George Spring walked. Then Josh Reddick singled, driving in Bregman, which put the Astros on the board. The next batter was Altuve, who connected on a 3-run shot to left field, giving Houston a 4-2 lead. The Astros would add another solo shot in the 7th off of Shoemaker, courtesy of Gattis, who connect on the first pitch of the inning.
Shoemaker (1-2) took the loss after pitching 6 innings, giving up 5 runs on 5 hits. He walked 3 and struck out 4 while making 80 pitches. After the Gattis homer in the 7th, Yusmeiro Petit came in to relieve Shoemaker.
Escobar drilled his 2nd homer of the game in the 5th inning, driving a pitch over the center field wall off of Mike Fiers. Fiers (1-1) picked up the win after going 5 innings, giving up all 3 Angel runs on 4 hits. He made 94 pitches, striking out 1 and walking 4. Ken Giles picked up his 8th save of the season, pitching a perfect 9th inning, and striking out the last two batters he faced.
Houston got 4 scoreless innings of relief from James Hoyt, Will Harris, and Giles. The three combined to give up just 2 hits, while striking out a total of 7 Angels.
The Astros are now 21-11, which is their best start in franchise history. After taking two of three over the weekend, they are now 17-6 against the AL West. The Angels are now 16-17 on the year, 5.5 games back of Houston in the division.
The Halos will now travel up to Oakland to open up a 3-game set with the A’s beginning Monday night. Rickly Nolasco (2-2; 4.68 ERA) will be on the hill for the Angels, while Oakland will counter with Kendall Graveman (2-2; 3.95 ERA).