Astros drop all four in Anaheim
Angels continue to out-slug Astros to complete four-game sweep
Sep 6, 2020, 6:39 pm
Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images
Astros George Springer
With the Angles already locking up the series win by taking the first three games, including sweeping a doubleheader on Saturday, the Astros tried to salvage a game in the four-game set on Sunday. Here is how they did:
Final Score: Angels 9, Astros 5.
Record: 21-19, second in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Mike Mayers (1-0, 2.93 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Framber Valdez (3-3, 3.61 ERA).
Astros score an early lead, Angels take it away immediately
Kyle Freaking Tucker. #ForTheH pic.twitter.com/PB8xLhG8RS
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 6, 2020
Houston would continue bringing in runs in the first innings of games, taking an immediate 2-0 lead in Sunday's game after a one-out walk by Josh Reddick set up a two-run home run by Kyle Tucker. Aledmys Diaz extended the lead by one more run, hitting a solo home run in the next inning to make it 3-0.
Framber Valdez would falter in the second and third innings and give up that three-run lead, though, allowing three consecutive singles in the second to score run, then giving up three in the third on a two-run home run by Anthony Rendon and a sacrifice fly.
Astros tie as Houston leans on Valdez a bit too far
The game stayed 4-3 over the next few innings until the bottom of the sixth when the Angels would get another run on an RBI-single to make it 5-3. Carlos Correa got that run back immediately to lead off the top of the seventh, crushing a solo home run to make it a one-run game. The Astros went on to tie the game a few batters later thanks to an RBI-double by Abraham Toro, but despite having a runner on third with one out, they could not retake the lead in the inning.
Despite the tough middle innings and allowing the runs along the way, Valdez would give his team a much-needed lengthy outing on the mound, completing seven full innings before returning to the mound nearing 100 pitches in the bottom of the eighth. Leaving him out there would end up costing Houston, as he would allow three straight singles to start the inning to give the Angels another go-ahead run at 6-5 and end his day.
Angels complete the four-game sweep
Chris Devenski would enter out of Houston's bullpen, still no outs in the inning, and issued back-to-back walks to bring in another run. Los Angeles then blew it open with a two-RBI single to make it 9-5 before Brooks Raley would enter to get two strikeouts to finally put an end to the inning. The Astros would come up empty in the top of the ninth, giving Los Angeles the four-game sweep.
Up Next: Houston will travel up the California coast tonight to begin a five-game series with the A's over the next four days. The series will start Monday at 8:10 PM Central with Cristian Javier (4-1, 3.35 ERA) pitching for the Astros and Chris Bassitt (2-2, 3.72 ERA) on the bump for the A's.
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Right-hander Luis Garcia and the Houston Astros avoided arbitration when they agreed to a one-year contract for $1,875,000, matching the salary he earned last year when he didn't pitch in the major leagues as he recovered from Tommy John surgery.
The 28-year-old Garcia had surgery on May 19, 2023, and made a pair of minor league appearances last year, on June 28 and July 4, but was slow to bounce back.
Garcia is 28-19 with a 3.61 ERA in 63 starts and six relief appearances from 2020-23. He pitched for Venezuela in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Seven Astros remained set to exchange proposed arbitration salaries with the team Thursday: right-hander Bryan Abreu, left-hander Framber Valdez, shortstop Jeremy Peña, third baseman Isaac Paredes and outfielders Mauricio Dubón, Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers.