ASTROS BLOW A HUGE OPPORTUNITY
Framber Valdez collapses in fifth as Angels rally past Astros
May 21, 2024, 7:11 am
ASTROS BLOW A HUGE OPPORTUNITY
Nolan Schanuel and Logan O’Hoppe both hit three-run homers and Jo Adell added a solo shot as the Los Angeles Angels jumped on Framber Valdez for seven runs in the fifth inning to power them to a 9-7 win over the Houston Astros on Monday night.
Zach Neto homered in the sixth inning to give the Angels a season-high four home runs as they won for the fourth time in five games.
It's the first time in franchise history the Angels have had four players age 25 or younger homer in the same game.
“They're growing up,” manager Ron Washington said. “They’re starting to figure things out. They really didn’t try to do too much and they ended up doing a lot. And that’s what it’s about.”
They trailed by five with two on and one out in the fifth when Schanuel homered to right field to cut the lead to 6-4. There were two on again with two outs when O’Hoppe connected to put Los Angeles up 7-6.
Adell sent the next pitch by Valdez (3-2) into the seats in right field to push it to 8-6.
Valdez was tagged for a season-high 10 hits and tied a career high by giving up eight runs in five innings.
“He just kind of was lost, started leaving some pitches in the heart of the plate and they put some really good swings on them,” manager Joe Espada said. “His stuff was really good... just that fifth inning he kind of lost the feel for the zone.”
Rafael Montero took over to start the sixth and was greeted with a homer by Neto to leave the Angels up 9-6.
Houston led 6-1 early after a three-run homer by Jose Altuve and a two-run shot from Mauricio Dubón before the big inning by Los Angeles.
Reid Detmers allowed eight hits and six runs in four innings. José Suarez (1-0) struck out one in two scoreless innings for the win.
Along with his home run, Adell wowed on defense, too when he robbed Yainer Diaz of a home run for the first out of the ninth inning. Adell jumped to grab the ball just before crashing into the padded wall in right field, causing reliever Carlos Estévez to raise both of his arms and cheer.
“He’s growing in front of your face,” Washington said. “That was a big-time play and that play right there may have saved the game.”
Estévez allowed an RBI single to Kyle Tucker to cut the lead to 9-7 with two outs before walking Yordan Alvarez. But he retired Alex Bregman on a fly out to end it and get his seventh save.
Schanuel and Luis Rengifo both singled to open the first before Schanuel scored on a sacrifice fly by Taylor Ward.
Jeremy Peña singled with no outs in the bottom of the inning and stole second base with one out. The Astros tied it when he scored on a two-out single by Diaz before a single by Dubón.
Altuve sent a high fastball from Detmers into the seats in left field to put Houston on top 4-1.
Diaz doubled with one out in the fourth before the Astros pushed the lead to 6-1 on the homer by Dubón.
ABREU’S RETURN
Struggling first baseman José Abreu could rejoin the Astros as soon as this weekend, less than a month after agreeing to be optioned to the minors to work on his swing.
The 2020 AL MVP batted .099 with just one extra-base hit and three RBIs in 22 games this season before his demotion.
“He looks like he’s in a much better offensive position, but also mentally,” Espada said. “That’s another area we wanted him to clear his mind and reset and we feel he’s getting closer.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: OF Chas McCormick (right hamstring discomfort) is nearing a return after playing six minor league rehabilitation games. Espada wouldn’t say exactly when he’d be activated but indicated that it would be soon.
UP NEXT
Houston RHP Cristian Javier (3-1, 3.23 ERA) opposes RHP Griffin Canning (2-4, 5.21) when the series continues Tuesday night.
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!