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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The Astros and the Yankees in the Bronx this weekend. Fun! And important. Both teams have been in results ruts for a while. The Astros have gone 9-16 over their last 25 games while the Yankees’ funk is longer extending, producing a 19-29 mess over their last 48 games. Despite the Seattle Mariners closing in, the Astros still lead the American League West. The Yankees’ hopes of again winning the AL East are fading toward the point of no return. They have tumbled six and a half games behind the Toronto Blue Jays and also lag three games behind the rampaging Boston Red Sox. Hence, the Yankees are under clearly more pressure than are the Astros this weekend. The pitching matchups in the first two games strongly favor the Astros. Friday night it’s Hunter Brown opposite rookie Cam Schlittler who makes his fifth big league appearance. Saturday afternoon it’s Framber Valdez versus Luis Gil, who was the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, but missed the first four months of this season with a lat injury. Gil made his 2025 debut Sunday, and was terrible. The Astros’ quality rotation depth beyond Brown and Valdez is non-existent at this point. Their Sunday starter will be a lesser starter than the Yankees’ Max Fried. Of course, in one game you never know.
The Astros have thoroughly owned the Yankees in their most meaningful meetings over the last decade. In 2015 the ousted the Yankees in a one-game Wild Card matchup. Then came the real soul-crushers with the Astros vanquishing the Yanks in the 2017, 2019, and 2022 American League Championship Series, with it getting easier for the Astros as time went on. The 2017 series went the maximum seven games, 2019 took six, 2022 was a four-game Astros’ sweep. The regular season has been a different matter. The Yankees have beaten the Astros in 11 of 14 games over the last two years. Last season the Yankees walloped the Astros six wins to one. They only play six times this regular season: the three in New York this weekend then three at Daikin Park in early September.
Here comes the Judge
While the Astros (and their fans) endure a seemingly never-ending wait for Yordan Alvarez’s return to the lineup, the Yankees have Aaron Judge back after a 10-day stint on the injured list. Judge carries the burden of soft career postseason stats (though he has 16 home runs in just 58 postseason games and his career playoffs OPS is just 21 points lower than Alex Bregman’s), but this is a legendary player. Judge’s career OPS stands at a whopping 1.024. That number will drop during the decline years remaining in his career, but here’s the list of all time Major Leaguers higher than 1.024: Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Barry Bonds, and Jimmie Foxx. Those are arguably the four greatest offensive players in MLB history, plus Foxx who probably rates in the top 20. If he holds up the rest of the season, Judge is a cinch for his third AL Most Valuable Player Award in four years.
Turn back the clock
Should they choose to check it out, the Astros can watch the Yankees’ Old-Timers' Game Saturday. Though most of the greatest of Yankee legends have died, there will still be a fabulous cast of alumni who soak up cheers during introductions, with many of them then taking part in a two or three inning game. The Yankees are by far the most storied franchise in MLB. The Astros have plenty of history and beloved players over multiple generations to copy the concept, and have their own Old-Timers' Day at Daikin Park. Would it not be a blast to see Roger Clemens pitch to Craig Biggio? Roy Oswalt to Lance Berkman? As I said during our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast this week, I wouldn’t bet against 78 (as of Friday)-year-old Jose Cruz squaring up a ball for a line drive. Make Astros’ Old Timers’ Day happen in 2026 Jim Crane!
Angry birds
The best team in the American League is Toronto, best for now anyway. The Blue Jays have been the best over the last two months-plus. The Jays woke up May 29 at 27-28. Since then they are 41-20. Over that time frame the Astros have the third-best record in the AL behind the Jays and Red Sox. A notable part of Toronto’s success the past month is Joey Loperfido. He didn’t make the Jays’ big league squad coming out of spring training, and wasn’t called up until July 6. Over 72 at bats since getting back to “The Show” Loperfido is batting .389 with a .978 OPS. Reminder that Loperfido hit .372 over his first 43 at bats with the Astros. Full credit to Joey for a magnificent month. Still, there is no reason for the Astros to be wracked with regret for having included Loperfido in last season’s trade for Yusei Kikuchi.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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