The Los Angeles Angels will attempt to win their second straight sequence in opposition to an American League division chief on Sunday afternoon once they face the West-leading Houston Astros in Anaheim, Calif.
The Angels took three of 4 video games earlier within the week in New York in opposition to the East-leading Yankees. After dropping the sequence opener to the Astros 3-2 in 10 innings on Friday, Los Angeles posted a 9-1 victory Saturday as catcher Logan O’Hoppe hit two dwelling runs and drove in 4 runs and right-hander Jose Soriano struck out 10 whereas permitting one run on three hits over 6 2/3 innings.
Luis Rengifo additionally homered for Los Angeles.
Veteran right-hander Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 4.79 ERA), coming off a sport Tuesday through which he blanked the Yankees 4-0 on 4 hits over six innings with 9 strikeouts, will begin for the Angels and can oppose rookie right-hander Ryan Gusto (4-3, 4.31 ERA).
Hendricks is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two profession begins in opposition to the Astros. That features a 7-3 loss at Houston on April 13, when he allowed 5 runs, together with a three-run homer to Isaac Paredes, on 4 hits over 4 innings.
Gusto is 0-1 in a single profession begin in opposition to the Angels, permitting three runs, together with a solo dwelling run by Nolan Schanuel, on 4 hits over 4 innings in a 4-1 dwelling loss on April 12.
Hendricks has received three consecutive begins over Seattle, the Athletics and Yankees. His win at New York was his greatest begin of the season, as he saved the Yankees off-balance with 42 changeups to go along with 39 sinkers, 14 fastballs — none of which hit 90 mph — and three curveballs. Two of his 9 strikeouts got here in opposition to reigning American League MVP Aaron Choose.
“I went in with a superb sport plan, and simply form of noticed what they have been doing to us,” Hendricks mentioned. “Getting forward was an enormous key, establishing my fastball, particularly inside to a few of them, to get them to respect it just a little bit. After which simply being down, establishing each the fastball and the changeup, after which choosing the spots the place we wanted to go as much as change eyesight.”
The Angels hit three dwelling runs Saturday night time in opposition to the Astros, marking their first win by greater than 5 runs since April 10. O’Hoppe ended a 19-game homer drought with the fourth multi-home run sport of his profession.
“It lastly felt good to hit a ball flush once more,” O’Hoppe mentioned. “It had been a few weeks since that is been happening. Felt good to get again within the groove. It was a workforce effort tonight, in order that’s one we’ll undoubtedly construct on tomorrow.”
Houston completed with simply three hits within the loss, however one in every of them was an RBI single by Christian Walker. The struggling first baseman, who’s within the first yr of a three-year, $60 million free-agent take care of the Astros, is batting simply .214 with 10 dwelling runs and 36 RBIs.
“Feeling higher these days, I really feel like myself these days,” Walker advised MLB.com. “I feel I began so sluggish that the common and stuff are slowly developing, it’ll be very a lot a chip-away-at-it-all-year kind of factor. However I feel a superb problem for me proper now will not be getting caught up in what the scoreboard says.”
Regardless of Saturday’s lopsided loss, Houston is 8-3 over its previous 11 video games and nonetheless holds a five-game lead within the AL West over the Seattle Mariners.
–Subject Degree Media
