Angels 4, Astros 3
HOUSTON -- Mike Trout and Albert Pujols smacked back-to-back home runs in the first inning and the Los Angeles Angels' bullpen piecemealed its way through a white-knuckle eighth inning in a 4-3 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.
The Angels (77-74) snapped a six-game losing skid in Houston with their early power surge and by fending off an onslaught of Astros pinch hitters in the eighth -- five total were announced. Angels closer Huston Street struck out center fielder Jake Marisnick with two runners on base to close the inning after uncorking a wild pitch that allowed Astros third baseman Jed Lowrie to score the Astros' third run.
Right-hander Trevor Gott and left-hander Jose Alvarez preceded Street out of the bullpen as the Angels closed to within 2 1/2 games of the Astros (80-72) in the chase for the second American League wild card. The Twins beat the Indians 3-1 and moved to within two games of Houston.
Street surrendered a 430-foot double to straightaway center field to Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, but that blast stayed in the park with two outs. Following an intentional walk to Lowrie, Street struck out designated hitter Evan Gattis for his 39th save. Houston stranded 11 batters.
The Angels pounced on Astros rookie right-hander Lance McCullers two pitches into the game, with shortstop Erick Aybar reaching on a bunt single to set the table for center fielder Mike Trout, who launched a first-pitch fastball 398 feet to left-center field for a 2-0 lead.
The home run was Trout's 40th of the season. One batter later, designated hitter Albert Pujols added his 36th homer of the year, a 443-foot blast to left field that bumped the lead to 3-0. McCullers rebounded to strike out left fielder David Murphy and first baseman C.J. Cron to close the first inning, and that represented a restart that carried him deeper into his outing.
Angels left-hander Hector Santiago started effectively, retiring the Astros in order on just seven pitches in the first inning. However, after recording two quick outs in the second, Santiago surrendered back-to-back home runs to left fielder Marwin Gonzalez, his 11th, and first baseman Chris Carter, his 20th.
With that, Santiago saw his lead cut to 3-2, and while he didn't surrender that advantage, he labored until he was lifted after issuing a leadoff walk to Gonzalez in the sixth.
Santiago, replaced by right-hander Fernando Salas, reversed course en route to the dugout and confronted plate umpire Chris Conroy, who responded by ejecting Santiago. Salas cleaned up the mess he inherited, striking out Carter before inducing a double-play grounder off the bat of Astros catcher Jason Castro.
NOTES: Angels 2B Johnny Giavotella faced live pitching on Tuesday and might return before the regular season concludes. Giavotella was placed on the 15-day disabled list Aug. 24 with an illness later diagnosed as fourth cranial nerve palsy, a condition that caused him to experience double vision whenever he looked left. ... Astros LF Marwin Gonzalez returned to the lineup for the first time since Sept. 16 after having missed seven of eight games with left hand/wrist soreness. Gonzalez, a switch hitter, is limited to batting right-handed and played the outfield to avoid aggravating the injury by potentially diving for grounders in the infield. ... Angels RHP Matt Shoemaker will not pitch during the weekend series against the Mariners but should start next week against Oakland. He experienced moderate soreness after his previous start against the Twins on Sunday, his first appearance in 19 days after dealing with a strained right forearm.