Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. (Interstat) — Ramón Urías hit a two-run homer in a four-run fifth inning, one of four Houston home runs, and the Astros closed their season with a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday evening at Angel Stadium.
The Astros, who finished with 87 wins and 75 losses, missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Angels concluded their year at 72-90.
Houston struck first in the opening inning. Mauricio Dubón singled, Victor Caratini was hit by a pitch and Yainer Diaz drove in Dubón with a single to center field.
The Angels answered immediately in the bottom of the first when Mike Trout launched his 26th home run of the season, a solo shot to left-center field, tying the game 1-1.
The game remained tied until the Astros erupted in the fifth. Diaz led off the inning with his 20th home of the year, a solo blast to left-center to break the tie. After a Jesús Sánchez single and a Cam Smith double, Urías delivered the decisive blow, a two-run homer to left field, his 11th, to extend the lead to 5-1. Brice Matthews followed with a solo home run, his fourth, to cap the inning’s scoring.
Houston added one more run in the sixth inning on a solo home run by Caratini, his 12th.
The Angels scored a consolation run in the ninth inning. Jo Adell and Chris Taylor singled, and Carter Kieboom drove in Adell with a single to center. The Angels loaded the bases, but Houston reliever Lance McCullers Jr. struck out Denzer Guzman and Taylor Ward to end the game.
Astros starter Colton Gordon earned the win, improving to 6-4. He pitched five scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out three. McCullers Jr. provided three innings of relief, allowing one run on two hits while striking out four.
Angels starter Sam Aldegheri took the loss, falling to 0-2. He was charged with four runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings.
The game, played before an announced crowd of 30,609, took 2 hours, 43 minutes to complete. Houston outhit Los Angeles 11-6. The Astros won three of the four games in the season-ending series.