The game turned on one wild fourth inning. Houston fell behind by two, tied it on a line-drive double, and then took the lead for good on a sacrifice fly, holding off the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 at Daikin Park.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| HOU | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 |
Christian Vazquez set the tone early, going deep in the third inning for a 1-0 lead, and finished 1-for-2 with a home run, an RBI and a walk to earn game MVP honors. But the offensive story of the night belonged to the fourth inning, when Houston erased a two-run deficit in a single frame. Jose Altuve's sharp line-drive double to left scored Yordan Alvarez and tied the game at 2-2, moving Isaac Paredes to third. Cam Smith followed with a sacrifice fly to center fielder Mike Trout, and Paredes came home to make it 3-2, a lead Houston would not relinquish.
The Angels had briefly grabbed control just an inning earlier. Denzer Guzman's double to left field, aided by fan interference, brought home both Vaughn Grissom and Josh Lowe, putting Los Angeles ahead 2-1 in the top of the fourth. Guzman finished with two RBIs on the night. That lead lasted only until Houston's turn at bat.
Walbert Urena took the loss for Los Angeles after allowing 3 runs on 3 hits over 5.0 innings, with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts across 94 pitches. The Angels' bullpen kept things quiet afterward, with three relievers combining for 3.0 scoreless innings, but the early damage in the fourth had already put Houston in front for good. Mike Trout went 1-for-3 for Los Angeles, and Wade Meckler was held hitless in three at-bats.
Houston's bullpen did the rest, with Bennett Sousa picking up the win after 1.1 scoreless innings, and Bryan Abreu, Steven Okert and AJ Blubaugh each adding a scoreless inning before Josh Hader closed it out for his 18th save, carrying a 0.87 ERA. The win moved the Astros to 64-63 and extended their record to a first-place mark in the division, snapping the Angels' momentum as Los Angeles fell to 50-77.