Christian Walker homered twice and the Houston Astros beat the Angels 6-1 on Saturday night, a couple of hours after getting 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.
Walker was batting in the second inning when Cleveland scored in the bottom of the ninth at Progressive Field for a 3-2 victory over Texas that clinched the final American League playoff spot for the Guardians and eliminated the Astros.
That snapped Houston’s streak of eight consecutive playoff appearances, a run that featured seven straight trips to the AL Championship Series from 2017-2023 and World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.
With Saturday night’s game rendered moot, Astros manager Joe Espada pulled his top three batters — Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes and Carlos Correa — after two innings.
Cole followed Yainer Diaz’s second-inning single with a two-run homer off Angels starter Caden Dana (0-4). Walker led off the fourth with a homer for a 3-0 lead. Cole walked and Sanchez lined a two-run homer to right field for a 5-0 lead. Walker’s solo shot — his 27th of the season — made it 6-1 in the ninth.
Houston starter AJ Blubaugh gave up one hit in four scoreless innings against the Angels (72-89), and reliever J.P. France (1-0) allowed one run and two hits in three innings, striking out five and walking one.
Dana, the Angels’ rookie right-hander, permitted five runs and five hits in seven innings.
Key moment: France gave up an RBI double to Jo Adell and walked Logan O’Hoppe to put two on with one out in the sixth, but the right-hander struck out Christian Moore and Oswald Peraza to preserve a 5-1 lead.
Key stat: Sunday’s season finale will be only the fourth game since the start of the 2015 season that the Astros (86-75) will play while out of postseason contention. The other three came at the end of 2016, when Houston was eliminated from the wild-card race on Sept. 29.
Up next: Astros RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (2-5, 6.71 ERA) will start Sunday against Angels LHP Sam Aldegheri (0-1, 8.00).
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone questioned the legality of a bat used by Houston Astros outfielder Taylor Trammell during Thursday’s series finale.
Down by five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Houston mounted a comeback by starting off the inning with a single by catcher Victor Caratini and a double off the wall by Trammell. After the at-bat, Boone asked the umpires to check the bat used by the 27-year-old because of its “discoloration.”
Rule 3.02(c) by Major League Baseball bans the usage of a “colored bat in a professional game” unless approved by the league.
The crew chief, Adrian Johnson, took the bat and called a review to verify the legality of the discoloration on barrel.
After the review, the bat was confiscated by the umpires, authenticated and sent to the league office to be inspected, according to Astros manager Joe Espada.
“The bat was worn down a little bit,” Espada said. “He uses that bat all the time and I guess they thought it was an illegal bat.
“I thought it was … whatever,” he added.
Boone said they noticed the color of the bat earlier in the series and brought it up to the league officials on Thursday.
“You’re not allowed to do anything to your bat,” Boone said after the game. “I’m not saying he was … we noticed it and the league thought it maybe it was illegal too.”
After the game, the outfielder remained confused.
“I feel kind of defensive right now, more so a test of my character, like I’m going to willingly do that,” Trammell said. “Just kind of lost on that thing, and if anyone knows me, knows I’m never going to cheat or anything like that.”
Trammell, who played a couple of games for the Yankees last season, stayed on second base. The Astros later scored a run on a single by designated hitter Yordan Alvarez but the Yankees held on to win the game 8-4.
HOUSTON — Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer and an RBI single and Ramón Urías also went deep to back up a strong start from Luis Garcia and lead the Houston Astros to an 8-3 win over the Angels on Monday.
Garcia (1-0) got the win in his return after sitting out more than two years while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He allowed three hits and three runs with six strikeouts in six innings in his first start since May 1, 2023.
The game was tied with one out in the fifth when Yordan Alvarez singled before moving to second on a groundout by Altuve. Carlos Correa then singled on a grounder to center field to score Alvarez and give Houston a 4-3 lead.
Cam Smith singled with two outs in the sixth to chase Yusei Kikuchi (6-10) before stealing second base. Mauricio Dubón walked and Jeremy Peña’s second double of the day scored Smith to make it 5-3.
Alvarez added an RBI single in the eighth before Altuve’s homer made it 8-3.
Zach Neto hit a solo home run and Jo Adell added a two-run shot for the Angels, whose two-game winning streak was snapped.
Garcia retired the first nine batters before Neto homered to open the fourth inning. Mike Trout singled with one out before Adell launched his 31st homer into the seats in left field to put the Angels on top 3-2.
Kikuchi gave up eight hits and five runs in 5⅔ innings.
The Angels haven’t announced their starter for Tuesday night’s game at Kansas City.
HOUSTON — Cristian Javier didn’t give up a hit in six innings and three relievers completed the two-hitter to help the Houston Astros to a 2-0 win over the Angels (62-72) on Friday night.
Javier struck out six, walked three and threw 85 pitches in six innings. He was making his fourth start of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2024.
He was relieved by Enyel De Los Santos (5-3), who gave up a double to Yoán Moncada for the Angels’ first hit of the game, but secured the win.
Kaleb Ort secured a four-out save — his first save of the season — after relieving Craig Kimbrel in the eighth. Kimbrel walked three and threw eight strikes in 25 pitches. Ort secured a fly out from Jo Adell to end the eighth, then finished with a perfect ninth.
Carlos Correa broke the scoreless tie with an RBI single in the seventh that scored Yordan Alvarez. The Astros (75-60) were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position before that hit off losing pitcher Luis García Jr. (2-1).
Alvarez drove in a second run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Cam Smith, who walked earlier in the inning.
Key moment: Before Correa’s single, Alvarez reached first base on a fielding error by second baseman Christian Moore. He scored after advancing on a bloop single from Jose Altuve.
Key stat: Javier’s six no-hit innings are tied for second-longest no-hit outing of his career with a nine-strikeout performance in the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. His career best was a seven-inning performance against the New York Yankees on June 25, 2022.
Up next: The Astros will send RHP Spencer Arrighetti (1-5, 6.21 ERA) to the mound against Angels RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-9, 5.04) on Saturday.
From Kevin Baxter: When the Dodgers left Los Angeles for their final road trip before the All-Star break last summer, they had a 55-36 record and a 7 1/2-game lead in the National League West.
When this year’s Dodgers land in Milwaukee on Sunday night to begin the last road trip before the All-Star break, their record will be a game better and their division lead about the same, pending the results of San Diego’s game Sunday night.
But if you take a good look under the hood, there are obvious — and worrying — differences between this year and last year.
In 2024, the Dodgers had one of the best records in baseball against teams with a winning record. After Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros, this year’s team is just a game over .500 — 20-19 — against teams over .500. Those are the only kind of teams the Dodgers will face in the playoffs.
And it’s not just that they lose, it’s how they lose that’s troubling.
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ANGELS
Bo Bichette homered and scored the deciding run to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to their season-high eighth straight victory, 3-2 over the Angels on Sunday.
The American League East-leading Blue Jays improved to 52-38, sweeping a homestand of seven of more games for the first time since 1994 and second in franchise history.
Toronto drew even on with Bichette’s leadoff homer in the fourth inning. His 12th homer came after his error in the top of the inning loaded the bases for the Angels. Davis Schneider drove in Bichette in the sixth inning with a single down the left-field line.
Mike Trout homered for the Angels with two out in the first.
Edson Álvarez scored a tiebreaking goal in the 77th minute after a video review reversed an offside call, and Mexico beat the United States 2-1 on Sunday night for its record 10th CONCACAF Gold Cup title.
Chris Richards put the U.S. ahead in the fourth minute, heading in a Sebastian Berhalter free kick for the second time in the tournament, but Raúl Jiménez tied the score in the 27th with his third goal of this Gold Cup.
Mexico was awarded the free kick when Diego Luna fouled Alexis Vega on a flank. Johan Vásquez flicked the restart across the goal mouth and Álvarez burst past the defense, redirecting the ball from three yards just inside Matt Freese’s far post. While the play was initially called offside, the goal was awarded by the VAR, and Mexico defended its title from 2023 while improving to 6-2 in Gold Cup finals against the U.S.
From Jad El Reda: The Los Angeles sports world mourned the loss of one of its most beloved voices, Rolando “El Veloz” González, the longtime Galaxy broadcaster and a pioneer of Spanish-language sports radio, who died June 25.
His legacy transcends generations on the microphone.
González’s career began almost accidentally. Although his dream was to play soccer, life had other plans for him and turned him into a storyteller.
“One day on March 6, 1962, I was playing soccer in the local league and the radio play-by-play broadcaster who was assigned that game of my team Escuintla against Universidad, Dr. Otorrino Ríos Paredes, had a car accident,” González recalled in 2017. “The owner of the station ran to tell me, ‘[get dressed, get dressed]’ and I replied, ‘Who are you to tell me to get dressed? Let the trainer tell me.’ He said, ‘I need you because they told me that you narrate soccer.’ I replied that I do that there among the guys.”
He later moved to Los Angeles, where former Dodgers announcer Jaime Jarrín gave him his big break during the 1984 Olympics.
From Micheel Alharazy: Bronny James made his 2025 summer league debut, scoring 10 points in 10 minutes during the Lakers’ win over the Miami Heat in the California Classic at the Chase Center on Sunday.
The Lakers led for most of the game, rolling to a 103-83 victory.
The Heat went on a 10-0 run to start the third quarter, but the Lakers responded with strong perimeter shooting to maintain a double-digit lead.
Cole Swider was the Lakers’ leading scorer for the second consecutive game, finishing with 20 points against the Heat. Swider shot seven of 10 from the field, including two of five from three-point range.
1911 — Dorothea Lambert Chambers sets the record for the shortest championship match at Wimbledon — 25 minutes — by disposing of Dora Boothby 6-0, 6-0 in the women’s finals.
1912 — American athlete Jim Thorpe wins 4 of 5 events to win the Pentathlon gold medal at the Stockholm Olympics, medal stripped 1913 (played pro baseball), reinstated 1982.
1934 — Elizabeth Ryan teams with Simone Mathiau and wins her record 12th women’s doubles title at Wimbledon, defeating Dorothy Andrus and Sylvia Henrotin 6-3, 6-3.
1953 — Walter Burkemo beats Felice Torza to win the PGA Championship at Birmingham (Mich.) Country Club.
1973 — In the first all-U.S. women’s Wimbledon final, Billie Jean King beats Chris Evert, 6-0, 7-5.
1974 — In Munich, West Germany beats the Netherlands 2-1 to win soccer’s World Cup.
1978 — NBA approves franchise swap; Buffalo Braves owner John Y. Brown and Harry Mangurian acquire Boston Celtics, while the Celtics owner Irv Levin gets Braves, later moved to San Diego to become the Clippers.
1980 — Larry Holmes retains his WBC heavyweight title with a seventh-round TKO of Scott LeDoux in Bloomington, Minn.
1982 — Steve Scott of the Sub 4 Club sets a United States record in the mile with a time of 3:47.69 in a track meet at Oslo, Norway.
1985 — West Germany’s Boris Becker, 17, becomes the youngest champion and first unseeded player in the history of the men’s singles at Wimbledon with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Kevin Curren.
1986 — American athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee sets world heptathlon record of 7,148 points in the inaugural Goodwill Games at Moscow.
1990 — Martina Navratilova wins her ninth Wimbledon women’s singles championship, beating Zina Garrison 6-4, 6-1, to break the record she shared with Helen Wills Moody.
1991 — Steffi Graf beats Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 to capture her third Wimbledon women’s title.
1992 — South Africa beats Cameroon 1-0 in Durban in first FIFA sanctioned match after nearly 20 years of international isolation because of apartheid.
1993 — Tom Burgess tosses three touchdown passes, and Wayne Walker scores twice as Ottawa spoils the debut of the CFL’s first American-based team by beating Sacramento 32-23.
2002 — Juli Inkster matches the lowest final-round score by an Open champion with a 4-under 66 for a two-stroke victory over Annika Sorenstam in the U.S. Women’s Open. It’s her seventh major.
2007 — Venus Williams claims her fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Marion Bartoli.
2007 — Wladimir Klitschko beats Raymond Brewster with a technical knockout after six rounds, to successfully defend his IBF and IBO heavyweight titles in Cologne, Germany.
2012 — Serena Williams dominates from start to finish, beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to win a fifth championship at the All England Club and 14th major title overall.
2013 — Andy Murray becomes the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon title, beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the final. The last British man to win the Wimbledon title before was Fred Perry in 1936.
2018 — Kristi Toliver scores 18 points to help the Washington Mystics beat the Sparks 83-74 for coach Mike Thibault’s 300th career regular-season win. Thibault becomes the first WNBA coach to reach that milestone.
2019 — U.S. Women’s National Team win their record 4th FIFA Women’s World Cup title with a 2-0 win over the Netherlands.
2021 — The Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup and third overall. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is named Finals MVP.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1923 — Lefty O’Doul, pitching for the Boston Red Sox, allowed 13 runs in the sixth inning to the Cleveland Indians, who won 27-3. In 1928, he was to return to the majors as a great hitting outfielder.
1936 — The NL won its first All-Star game 4-3 at Braves Field in Boston.
1937 — Lou Gehrig drove in four runs with a home run and a double to pace the AL to an 8-3 victory over the NL in the All-Star game at Washington’s Griffith Stadium. In attendance was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1959 — At Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, the first of two All-Star games played that season went to the NL, 5-4. The NL scored the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the eighth when Hank Aaron singled in a run and scored on a triple by Willie Mays.
1964 — The NL beat the AL 7-4 in the All-Star game on Johnny Callison’s two-out, three-run homer off Dick Radatz in the bottom of the ninth inning at New York’s Shea Stadium. The win pulled the NL even with its rivals (17-17-1) for the first time since the series began.
1998 — Coors Field lived up to its billing as a hitter’s haven as the American League beat the Nationals 13-8 at Coors Field in the highest-scoring All-Star game in major league history. The 21 runs broke the record set in the AL’s 11-9 win in 1954.
2006 — Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner became the first player in major league history to hit five grand slams before the All-Star break when he connected in the second inning of a 9-0 win over Baltimore. He finished the season with six.
2009 — Alan Embree earned the win in Colorado’s 5-4 victory over Washington without throwing a pitch. He entered with two out in the eighth and picked off Austin Kearns, who had singled off Joel Peralta. It was the first time a major leaguer had gotten a win without throwing a pitch since B.J Ryan for Baltimore at Detroit on May 1, 2003.
2011 — Dustin Pedroia hit a three-run shot and Boston added three consecutive home runs in the seventh in a 10-4 win over Baltimore. Six Boston players homered, including three straight by David Ortiz, Josh Reddick and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
2011 — A Texas Rangers fan died after falling about 20 feet onto concrete reaching out for a baseball tossed his way by All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton during a game. Shannon Stone, 39, was at the game with his young son, who watched as his dad tumbled over the outfield railing after catching the ball. The accident happened in the second inning after Oakland’s Conor Jackson hit a foul ball. Hamilton retrieved the ball and tossed it into the stands as players routinely do.
2016 — Colorado’s Trevor Story tied an NL rookie record for most home runs before the All-Star break, homering twice and boosting his total to 21 as the Rockies beat Philadelphia 11-2.
2018 — Mark Reynolds homered twice and drove in a career-high 10 runs and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 18-4. Reynolds (5 for 5) tied his career high for hits and equaled the Nationals’ RBI record.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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When the Dodgers left Los Angeles for their final road trip before the All-Star break last summer, they had a 55-36 record and a 7 1/2-game lead in the National League West.
When this year’s Dodgers land in Milwaukee on Sunday night to begin the last road trip before the All-Star break, their record will be a game better and their division lead about the same, pending the results of San Diego’s game Sunday night.
But if you take a good look under the hood, there are obvious — and worrying — differences between this year and last year.
Dodgers second baseman Hyeseong Kim strikes out in the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
In 2024, the Dodgers had one of the best records in baseball against teams with a winning record. After Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros, this year’s team is just a game over .500 — 20-19 — against teams over .500. Those are the only kind of teams the Dodgers will face in the playoffs.
And it’s not just that they lose, it’s how they lose that’s troubling.
In losing three in a row for the first time since mid-May, the Dodgers were outscored 29-6 by the Astros. The sweep was Houston’s first in a three-game series at Dodger Stadium since 2008, when the team played in the National League.
Manager Dave Roberts, however, pronounced himself unconcerned.
“I know we’re a good team,” he said. “The point is to win as many games in the regular season as possible. I really don’t care who we beat, I just want to win more games than anyone.
“So right now, or even going forward, I don’t pay too much attention to that.”
Look a little deeper, though, and there are other concerns. The Dodgers’ injured list, already as crowded as a Beyoncé concert — it swelled to 12 players with Max Muncy’s addition Thursday — could get even larger this week depending on the health of outfielder Teoscar Hernández and utility player Tommy Edman.
Teoscar Hernández, who fouled a ball off his left foot Saturday, spent 13 days on the IL with a groin problem in May and has been troubled by that injury and a nagging hip-flexor issue that could be behind a slump that has seen him hit .188/.240/.321 over his last 30 games. Edman didn’t play Sunday after a ball off the small toe on his right foot over the weekend. Both players had MRI scans Sunday with Edman’s showing a fracture of the toe.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is called out by umpire Paul Clemons during the eighth inning of a loss to the Astros at Dodger Stadium Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Kiké Hernández has been battling a sore left elbow that affects his swing for about a month. He may have to be shut down to let it heal.
“There is talk about one of those guys potentially going on the IL,” Roberts said. “I don’t see it being Tommy but we’re still kind of trying to figure that out. And then who would we bring [up]?”
With those three unavailable, the only player Roberts had on the bench Sunday was catcher Will Smith. And with the rotation still missing four starters to injury, he gave the ball to right-hander Emmet Sheehan, who had thrown just four big-innings all season.
That left manager Dave Roberts with a short bench. And with the rotation still missing four starters to injury, he gave the ball to right-hander Emmet Sheehan, who had thrown just four big-league innings all season.
Sheehan went one better Sunday, yielding just a run on five hits over five innings. But his teammates did little against Houston starter Ryan Gusto (6-3), who gave up four hits — including a run-scoring double to Dalton Rushing — over a season-high six innings.
Will Klein came on in favor of Sheehan to start the sixth and after two quick outs, the Astros loaded the bases on a double, a hit batter and an infield single. Klein (1-1) then walked Zack Short on a 3-2 pitch to force in the go-ahead run.
The Astros padded their lead with back-to-back homers from Christian Walker and Yainer Díaz to start the seventh off reliever Tanner Scott.
Jose Altuve closed the scoring with another solo homer off Anthony Banda in the ninth.
But, in a reminder of the still-tenuous pitching depth the Dodgers have relied on for much of this first half, long man Justin Wrobleski came back down to earth in a five-run, 4 ⅔-inning outing thereafter, sending the team to a defeat that clinched a series loss to the Astros.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is tagged out by Houston Astros third base Isaac Paredes while trying to stretch a double into a triple at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
In the big picture, this weekend has offered hope for the Dodgers’ long-term pitching plans.
On Friday, manager Dave Roberts said injured $136.5-million right-hander Tyler Glasnow is on track to return from his shoulder problem during next week’s road trip.
Before Saturday’s game, injured $182-million left-hander Blake Snell threw his second live batting practice of the week, striking out four of the eight hitters he faced in what is expected to be his final simulated session before going on a minor-league rehab assignment. Both he and injured reliever Blake Treinen, who also threw an inning of live batting practice Saturday, are lined up to be activated from the IL “at some point in time shortly after the All-Star break,” per Roberts.
Then there was Ohtani, who despite once again being limited to a short workload in his fourth pitching start of the season, was also once again dominant in a 31-pitch display.
After Isaac Paredes singled to lead off the game, Ohtani broke Cam Smith’s bat on a 96-mph fastball for a double-play grounder to second. In the second inning, Ohtani fanned Christian Walker with a slider, then Victor Caratini and Yainer Díaz on a pair of big-breaking sweepers — all while also touching 101 mph on the radar gun.
In his six total innings this year, Ohtani has given up just one run, one walk and four hits while striking out six batters on what was his 31st birthday.
And though it remains unclear exactly when he’ll be fully stretched out — or exactly how built up he will eventually get this year, coming off a second career Tommy John surgery — the Dodgers are inching steadily closer to having the rotation they envisioned this year: One with Ohtani, Snell and Glasnow joining likely All-Star Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a star-studded quartet the club has spent lavishly the last two offseasons to build.
“We can see a little squint of light,” Roberts said. “It’s taken a little longer than we’ve all expected or hoped for, as far as getting our guys together. So we haven’t gotten there yet. But we’re hopeful and excited.”
In the short term, however, the Astros have put a dent in the optimism the club had clung to among its stable of young pitching depth.
After Ben Casparius was knocked around in a historic blowout on Friday night, Wrobleski suffered a similar fate against Houston’s surging lineup. Upon entering the game at the start of the third, he quickly blew an early 2-0 Dodgers lead, giving up a leadoff single to Cooper Hummel and back-to-back two-strike doubles to Mauricio Dubón (who fouled off fastball after fastball before whacking a full-count heater the other way) and Zack Short (who got three-straight off-speed pitches, pulling the last one down the third-base line to score two runs).
Miguel Rojas, tapped to play third base Saturday in place of the recently injured Max Muncy, made matters worse by misfiring on a tough throw to first on a soft ground ball from Smith with one out, allowing a run to score. Then Walker, an unlikely Dodgers killer over his career, lined a two-out single to right to make it a four-run inning and a 4-2 Astros lead.
Wrobleski did eventually settle down, but not before Díaz homered at the start of the third to put the Astros up there.
That deficit proved insurmountable for the Dodgers. They made it 5-4 when Rojas homered in the fourth (he also had an RBI single in the second inning, and drew a walk in the fifth) but stranded a string of opportunities down the stretch, finishing the day one-for-five with runners in scoring position and with nine men left on base.
They are two longtime Dodger villains, hated for two vastly different reasons.
As the last remaining position player from the Houston Astros’ trash-can-banging, and (in the eyes of most Dodgers fans) World Series-stealing 2017 championship team, Jose Altuve always receives a rude welcome from the fans at Chavez Ravine.
As one of the most productive visiting players in Dodger Stadium history, Christian Walker often shuts them up.
In the Houston Astros’ 18-1 Independence Day rout on Friday, both added another tortured chapter to the Dodgers’ history against the team. Altuve went three for three with a double, two home runs, two walks and five RBIs. Walker went four for five with one long ball and four RBIs.
The Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve celebrates with Christian Walker after hitting a two-run homer against Dodgers in the third inning at Dodger Stadium on Friday.
(Kevork Djansezian/Los Angeles Times)
On a day starting pitcher Ben Casparius once again struggled (giving up six runs in three innings), reliever Noah Davis gave up 10 runs in the sixth inning alone (the most the Dodgers had surrendered in one inning since 1999), and most of a sold-out crowd stuck around for every painful minute (waiting in somber silence for a postgame fireworks show), that was plenty to lift the surging Astros to most lopsided defeat the Dodgers have ever suffered at Dodger Stadium.
Six weeks ago, the retooled Astros were one game above .500 and 3 ½ games out of first place in the American League West; seemingly missing the other 2017 stars who have departed the franchise since their sign-stealing scandal came to light five years ago.
But now, they have won 27 of their last 37, own the second-best record in the AL, and are suddenly looking like unlikely title contenders; even after turning over almost the entirety of the roster from that infamous 2017 season.
“Certainly, there’s been some history with our organizations,” manager Dave Roberts said pregame when asked if any lingering feelings remained from the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. “But if you look at it in reality, most of those guys are gone. So it certainly doesn’t have any bearing on this series this weekend.”
Instead, in their most lopsided loss of the season, the Dodgers had bigger concerns to worry about Friday, with Altuve and Walker at the top of the list.
Altuve received his typical reception from the Dodgers faithful, serenaded with booming boos and loud chants of “cheater” during each of his at-bats. However, he followed Isaac Paredes’ leadoff homer in the first with a double off the wall. He took Casparius deep for a two-run home run on a curveball in the third. He added an exclamation point with a three-run homer in the Astros’ 10-run sixth — the most runs the Dodgers (56-33) had allowed in one inning since Fernando Tatis’ historic two-grand-slam inning in April 1999 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Walker was every bit as dangerous.
A 34-year-old slugger who dominated the Dodgers (and, most confoundingly, Clayton Kershaw in particular) during an eight-year career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Walker was already emerging from an early-season slump in his first year with the Astros (53-35) entering this weekend’s series.
Then, back in the friendly confines of Dodger Stadium, he orchestrated a monster performance of his own from the five-spot of the Houston order.
In his first at-bat, Walker plated Altuve with a single the other way. Then, two batters after Altuve’s big fly in the third, Casparius left a fastball down the middle that Walker whacked for his 28th career home run against the Dodgers — and 20th at Dodger Stadium.
Only nine other players have hit that many home runs as visitors at the ballpark during their careers, a list that includes Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt and Willie Stargell, as well as Barry Bonds.
Walker also made a contribution in the sixth-inning onslaught.
After Davis gave up one run on two singles and two walks, the recently called-up right-hander plunked Walker with the bases loaded to force in another score, losing his grip on an 0-and-2 sweeper that left him visibly rattled on the mound.
Sensing Davis’ frustration, Roberts came to the bump for a motivational pep talk; eliciting memories of the mid-game hug he delivered to journeyman reliever Yohan Ramirez last season in Cincinnati.
This time, however, the mound visit had little effect. In the next at-bat, Davis threw a hanging sweeper that Victor Caratini belted for a grand slam. What was already a laugher became a full-fledged Fourth of July disaster.
Mauricio Dubón homered twice and Josh Hader stayed perfect in 19 save chances this season by getting Mike Trout to line out to center field with a runner on second as the Houston Astros held off the Angels 8-7 in the rubber game of their series Sunday.
Dubón’s second career multihomer game began with a leadoff shot against starter Kyle Hendricks in the fifth inning for the Astros’ first run. Dubón added a two-run drive off Hunter Strickland for a 6-5 lead in the sixth.
Jeremy Peña had an RBI double and Jake Meyers added a sacrifice fly to make it 8-5.
Nolan Schanuel hit an RBI single for the Angels in the seventh, and Zach Neto trimmed it to 8-7 with a solo homer off Hader in the ninth. Schanuel finished with three hits and four RBIs.
Peña hit his 11th home run one out after Dubón’s shot in the fifth to tie it 2-2. Meyers singled, stole second and scored on a two-out error by Luis Rengifo at third base. Christian Walker followed with an RBI double for a 4-2 lead.
Taylor Ward had a two-out double off Astros rookie Ryan Gusto, and Logan O’Hoppe hit his third two-run homer in two days to give the Angels a 2-0 lead in the second. O’Hoppe has 17 home runs and is closing in on the team record for a catcher set by Lance Parrish with 22 in 1990.
LaMonte Wade Jr. and Christian Moore singled in the bottom half, and Schanuel gave the Angels a 5-4 lead with his sixth homer.
Gusto (5-3) allowed five runs and six hits in six innings with seven strikeouts.
Hendricks permitted five runs — three earned — in five innings. Strickland (1-2) worked an inning and was tagged with his first three earned runs this season.
Key moment: The Angels had a run in with two on and two outs down 8-6 in the seventh with Trout coming to bat. Bryan Abreu replaced Bryan King and needed just three pitches to strike out Trout swinging on a pitch in the dirt.
Key stat: Trout went one for 11 after entering the series as the active leader against Houston with 30 homers, 30 doubles and 73 RBIs.
Up next: Houston returns home to play the Philadelphia Phillies beginning Tuesday.
The Angels hadn’t announced a starter for Monday’s series opener against RHP Walker Buehler (5-5, 5.95 ERA) and the visiting Boston Red Sox.
José Soriano pitched 6⅔ strong innings and Logan O’Hoppe hit a pair of two-run shots to end a long home run drought and help the Angels beat the Houston Astros 9-1 on Saturday night.
Soriano (5-5) struck out 10 and allowed one run on three hits and three walks. He has allowed just two runs in his last three starts covering 20⅔ innings with 28 strikeouts. He hasn’t allowed a home run since April 22 — a span of 11 starts.
O’Hoppe hit his 15th homer and first since May 22 in the third inning to give the Angels a 6-0 lead. The catcher capped the scoring with his second of the game in the seventh.
Jo Adell reached with a one-out infield single off Astros rookie Brandon Walter (0-1) in the second and Luis Rengifo followed with his fourth home run for a 2-0 lead.
Nolan Schanuel was hit by a pitch and Mike Trout singled and scored from first on a double by Taylor Ward for a 4-0 lead.
Jose Altuve walked and scored on a two-out single by Christian Walker in the fourth for the Astros, but the Angels answered in their half when Zach Neto doubled with two outs and scored on Schanuel’s single for a 7-1 lead.
Walter allowed seven runs on nine hits in six innings in his fourth career start.
Key moment: The Angels never looked back after Rengifo homered in the second.
Key stat: Houston is 3-2 against the Angels this season and leads the overall series 133-85. That includes a 65-45 record at Angel Stadium.
Up next: Astros rookie RHP Ryan Gusto (4-3, 4.31 ERA) will start Sunday’s rubber game against Angels RHP Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 4.79).
Mauricio Dubón scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning, Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes opened the game with home runs, and the Houston Astros beat the Angels3-2 on Friday night.
Peña led off the 10th with a single that advanced automatic runner Dubón to third. Dubón scored when Hunter Strickland, who hadn’t allowed a run in 14⅔ innings of his first 13 appearances with the Angels, threw a pitch behind the back of Paredes.
Houston closer Josh Hader (5-1) retired the side in order in the ninth and Bennett Sousa retired three straight batters in the 10th for his second save.
Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi gave up home runs to Pena and Paredes for a 2-0 Astros lead in the held the Astros to four hits, striking out nine and walking none, for the rest of his seven-inning start.
Jo Adell trimmed Houston’s lead to 2-1 in the fourth with a 426-foot homer off Astros starter Hunter Brown. Angels rookie Christian Moore, a first-round pick out of Tennessee in 2024, tied it 2-2 with his first major league homer to open the seventh.
Tempers flared in the third when Brown hit Angels shortstop Zach Neto in the elbow with a 95-mph sinker. Both benches and bullpens emptied, but no punches were thrown, and order was quickly restored.
Key moment: Astros center fielder Jake Meyers raced to the gap in left-center to make a spectacular, full-extension diving catch of Adell’s drive with a runner on first base and one out in the bottom of the eighth to preserve a 2-2 tie.
Key stat: The home runs by Peña and Paredes marked the first time in three years the Astros have opened a game with two homers. Jose Altuve and Peña last accomplished the feat on July 24, 2022, at Seattle.
Up next: Astros LHP Brandon Walter (0-0, 1.53 ERA) opposes Angels RHP José Soriano (4-5, 3.54) on Saturday night.
