ANAHEIM, Calif. (Interstat) — Mike Trout launched two home runs, including a tiebreaking solo shot in the eighth inning, to lift the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night at Angel Stadium, pushing their American League West rivals to the brink of playoff elimination.

In a game that defied pregame projections which heavily favored Houston, the Angels methodically chipped away at an early deficit before Trout delivered the decisive blow. The veteran designated hitter snapped a 3-3 tie with a leadoff homer to right-center field off Astros reliever Bryan King in the bottom of the eighth.

The win improved the Angels to 72-88 on the season, while the Astros fell to 85-75, seeing their hopes for a postseason berth grow increasingly faint with just two games remaining on the schedule.

Houston struck first, erupting for all three of their runs in the top of the fourth inning against Angels starter Kyle Hendricks. Christian Walker ignited the rally with a solo home run, his 25th of the season. Yainer Diaz followed with a double and later scored on a double by Zach Cole. The Astros managed six hits in the game, with Diaz collecting two doubles.

The Angels, however, began their comeback immediately. Trout answered Walker’s homer with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the fourth off Houston starter Jason Alexander, cutting the deficit to 3-1.

Los Angeles added another run in the fifth inning when Denzer Guzman doubled home Christian Moore, making it a one-run game. They finally drew even in the seventh. After a baserunning blunder resulted in an out at third, Chris Taylor delivered a clutch two-out single to score Guzman and knot the score at 3-3.

That set the stage for Trout’s heroics in the eighth. King, who took the loss to fall to 5-4, left a pitch over the plate that Trout sent over the fence for his 25th homer of the year.

Angels closer Kenley Jansen sealed the victory in the ninth, striking out the side in dominant fashion. He won a 10-pitch battle with Mauricio Dubón for the final out, recording his 30th save of the season and the 476th of his legendary career, moving him within two of Lee Smith for third place on baseball’s all-time list.

The Angels’ bullpen was flawless after Hendricks departed. Hendricks allowed five hits and two earned runs over five innings, striking out eight. Chase Silseth, José Fermin, winning pitcher Brock Burke (6-1), and Jansen combined for four hitless innings of relief, striking out five.

Alexander was effective for Houston, giving up four hits and two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. The Astros’ offense, which had scored 11 runs in the previous day, was stifled after the fourth inning, managing just one hit over the final five frames.

The announced attendance was 37,448, and the game time was 2 hours, 41 minutes. The teams are scheduled to continue their three-game series on Saturday and Sunday to conclude the regular season.