ANAHEIM, Calif. (Interstat) — Playing under the weight of a freshly extinguished playoff hope, the Houston Astros channeled their frustration into a powerful display, defeating the Los Angeles Angels 6-1 on Saturday night at Angel Stadium.

The Astros’ offense, led by a pair of home runs from Christian Walker, erupted for five runs in the middle innings just hours after the club was mathematically eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2016. The end of their run came when the Cleveland Guardians scored in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off victory over the Texas Rangers, clinching the final American League playoff spot.

On the field in Anaheim, however, the Astros played with purpose. Houston broke a scoreless tie in the second inning when Zach Cole launched a two-run homer to center field, scoring Yainer Diaz, who had singled.

The power surge continued in the fourth. Walker led off the inning with a solo shot to left field. After a strikeout and a walk, Jesús Sánchez connected on a line-drive, two-run homer to right field, pushing the Astros’ lead to 5-0.

The Angels managed their only run in the sixth inning. Mike Trout singled and later scored on a sharp line-drive double by Jo Adell. The Angels threatened to add more, putting two runners on, but Houston pitcher J.P. France struck out Oswald Peraza to end the inning.

Walker provided the final exclamation point in the ninth inning, crushing his second solo home run of the game deep to left field for his 27th of the season.

The offensive support was more than enough for a dominant collective effort from the Astros’ pitching staff. Starter AJ Blubaugh set the tone with four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two. He earned the win, his first of the season.

J.P. France followed with three innings of relief, surrendering the lone Angels run on two hits while striking out five. The bullpen then slammed the door, with Enyel De Los Santos and Craig Kimbrel each pitching a perfect inning and striking out two batters apiece.

The Angels’ Caden Dana shouldered the loss, falling to 0-4 on the season. He worked seven innings, allowing five runs on five hits, all of which were earned, while striking out five. The Angels’ offense was held to just three hits on the night.

With the victory, the Astros improved their record to 86-75. The Angels fell to 72-89.

The game was played in a brisk 2 hours, 26 minutes in front of an announced crowd of 36,487. The two teams will conclude their three-game series and their respective 2025 seasons on Sunday.