ANAHEIM, Calif. (Interstat) — Christian Walker homered twice and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-1 on Saturday night, a couple of hours after being eliminated from playoff contention.

Zach Cole and Jesús Sánchez also went deep for the Astros, who will miss the postseason for the first time since 2016. The Astros were officially eliminated when the Cleveland Guardians scored in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers, clinching the final American League playoff spot.

Playing under the weight of that news, the Astros responded with power, collecting seven hits, including four home runs. The Angels managed only three hits.

Houston took control early against Angels starter Caden Dana. In the top of the second inning, Yainer Diaz singled before Cole launched a two-run homer to center field.

The Astros extended their lead in the fourth. Walker led off the inning with a solo home run to left field. After a strikeout, Cole worked a walk, setting the stage for Sánchez, who lined a two-run homer to right field, pushing the Houston lead to 5-0.

The Angels scored their lone run in the sixth inning. Mike Trout singled and later scored on a sharp line-drive double by Jo Adell.

Walker capped the scoring with his second homer of the game, a solo shot to left field in the top of the ninth inning.

The Astros used a combination of four pitchers to secure the victory. Starter J.P. France earned the win, allowing one run on two hits over three innings of work. He struck out five. AJ Blubaugh provided four scoreless innings of relief, yielding just one hit. Enyel De Los Santos and Craig Kimbrel each pitched a perfect inning of relief to close out the game.

Dana took the loss for the Angels, lasting seven innings but surrendering five runs on five hits, including three home runs. He struck out five. José Ureña allowed one run on two hits in two innings of relief.

The game was played in 2 hours, 26 minutes before an announced crowd of 36,487 at Angel Stadium.

With the win, the Astros improved to 86-75. The Angels fell to 72-89. The two teams conclude their series and their 2025 seasons on Sunday.