MLB

Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels

· Major League Baseball
Houston Astros
79-68, 37-36 Away
Final
5 - 3
Los Angeles Angels
60-87, 30-43 Home

Yusei Kikuchi, Yordan Alvarez lead Astros past Angels 5-3 for Houston's 5,000th victory

Kikuchi (9-9) overcame early trouble and struck out six Angels while keeping the Astros unbeaten in all of his starts since joining Houston in a trade with Toronto. Houston gave up three prospects for Kikuchi, who is grateful to general manager Dana Brown for believing in him.

“I heard a lot of what fans had to say” about the trade, Kikuchi said through an interpreter. “But I think our GM made an awesome decision. I just wanted to prove to everybody what I'm capable of. ... I wasn't pitching that well in Toronto just before the deadline, so I was shocked a little bit. But once I got here, I was able to put the past behind me.”

Kikuchi is 5-0 in an Astros uniform, and Houston is 8-0 when he takes the mound. He's a big reason the Astros are rolling toward yet another AL West title after struggling early in the season. Kikuchi and two relievers combined to hold Los Angeles to three hits.

“He's been really good,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “We knew that it was in there. I'm just glad that he's been receptive and been able to be open about the adjustments we wanted him to make, and pitch usage and stuff like that. But the arm has always been there. It just feels like he's been here for many, many years. I hope he just keeps going.”

Alex Bregman hit an early two-run homer and Alvarez added his 33rd in the ninth inning for the first-place Astros, who opened a six-game Southern California trip with their second straight win after a three-game skid.

Josh Hader pitched the ninth for his 30th save as the Astros became the 18th big league club to reach 5,000 victories.

Mickey Moniak homered for the Angels, who have lost five of six.

Rookie Samuel Aldegheri (1-2) couldn’t get out of the third inning in his third major league start for the Angels, yielding four runs on six hits and five walks while recording only six outs.

“Just couldn't find his command,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “Couldn't hit his spots. Couldn't throw any pitch with consistency. That's not him.”

Houston scored twice in the second with two singles followed by two walks and Alvarez's sacrifice fly.

The Astros then got three hits on Aldegheri's first three pitches in the third inning. After Kyle Tucker singled, Bregman hit his 23rd homer and Jeremy Peña doubled.

Kikuchi issued back-to-back walks to begin the third, and Los Angeles scored on Zach Neto's groundout and Nolan Schanuel's single.

Moniak's solo shot to right in the fourth was just his second career homer against a left-hander. It was also the former No. 1 overall pick's 14th homer of the season, matching his career high.

Alvarez's homer was a line drive that went in and out of Moniak's glove when the center fielder leaped at the wall to attempt what would have been a spectacular catch. The homer was Alvarez's fifth in September.

Hader recorded 30 saves for the fourth consecutive season and the fifth time in his career.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Astros: INF Jose Altuve returned from a one-game absence with discomfort in his right side. He drove the first pitch of the game into left field, but was easily thrown out at second while trying to stretch it into a double.

Angels: 2B Brandon Drury sat out after leaving Wednesday's game in the fifth inning with hamstring tightness. ... RHP Ben Joyce is still awaiting the results of his MRI exam Thursday. The 105-mph hurler hasn't pitched since Sept. 6 after reporting shoulder discomfort.

UP NEXT

Justin Verlander (3-6, 5.30 ERA) takes the mound for Houston after struggling in his past two starts in September. Los Angeles sends out All-Star Tyler Anderson (10-12, 3.50 ERA), who beat the Astros earlier this year for his only victory in nine career starts against them.

How can I watch Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels?
  • TV Channel: Astros at Angels 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Angels: 44.4%
Astros: 55.6%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning O'Hoppe struck out swinging.
9th Inning O'Hoppe hit for Thaiss
9th Inning Leblanc struck out swinging.
9th Inning Schanuel flied out to center.
9th Inning Hader relieved Abreu
9th Inning Caratini grounded out to shortstop.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/hou.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originHOU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/laa.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLAA
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
13 Ground Balls 9
5 Strikeouts 10
5 Runs Batted In 3
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
14 Hits 3
0 Stolen Bases 2
6 Walks 2
0 Catcher Interference 0
5 Runs 3
3 Ground Into Double Play 0
1 Sacrifice Flies 0
36 At Bats 30
2 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
22 Runners Left On Base 5
0 Triples 0
1 Game Winning RBIs 0
1 Intentional Walks 0
2 Doubles 0
19 Fly Balls 11
0 Caught Stealing 0
133 Pitches 114
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 1
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 1
22 Total Bases 6
43 Plate Appearances 32
324.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
4 Extra Base Hits 1
8.8 Runs Created 0.6
.389 Batting Average .100
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.611 Slugging Percentage .200
.389 Secondary Average .233
.465 On Base Percentage .156
1.076 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .356
0.7 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.8
9.1 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 0.6
44.0 Batter Rating 20.0
18.0 At Bats Per Home Run 30.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 1.00
3.09 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.56
.222 Isolated Power .100
1.20 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.20
.140 Walks Per Plate Appearance .063
.000 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .133
10.0 Runs Produced 6.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.7 Patience Ratio 0.3
0.4 Balls In Play Average 0.1
100.0 MLB Rating 65.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Angel Stadium

Location: Anaheim, California
Attendance: 36,226 | Capacity:

2024 American League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston 88 73 .547 - W2
Seattle 85 77 .525 3.5 W4
Texas 78 84 .481 10.5 W3
Oakland 69 93 .426 19.5 L3
Los Angeles 63 99 .389 25.5 L6
Full Standings