This game was tied at 2-2 in the second inning. Twenty minutes later, it wasn't a game anymore. The Los Angeles Angels scored in six different innings and buried the Houston Astros 18-3, a rout built on one relentless fourth-inning surge that took a manageable lead and turned it into a laugher.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAA | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 | ||
| HOU | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Zach Neto was at the center of everything. He went 5-for-6 with a home run, two doubles, seven RBIs and two runs scored. His fourth-inning single scored Adam Frazier, part of a two-run frame, and he added a three-run homer in the fifth before a two-run double in the seventh. Vaughn Grissom added a three-RBI game with a two-run double of his own, and Moises Ballesteros drove in two more with a two-run single in that same fourth inning.
The Angels took the lead for good in the second when Tyler Heineman's sacrifice bunt attempt turned into a run-scoring groundout, Vaughn Grissom crossing the plate to make it 3-2. Los Angeles never trailed again. The floodgates truly opened in the fourth: Adam Frazier doubled home Josh Lowe, Neto singled in Frazier, Ballesteros drove in both Wade Meckler and Mike Trout, and Grissom's double brought home two more, turning a 4-2 game into a 10-2 blowout in the span of one inning. Neto's homer in the fifth made it 14-2, and Denzer Guzman added a two-run homer of his own in the ninth.
Peter Lambert took the loss for Houston, allowing 9 runs on 8 hits in 3.2 innings, and the Astros bullpen fared no better, surrendering 9 runs across 5.1 innings. Houston's only runs came on a fielder's-choice error in the first that scored LaMonte Wade Jr. and a ninth-inning sacrifice fly from Cam Smith that brought home Daulton Varsho. Nick Allen, Daulton Varsho and Isaac Paredes each managed two hits, but Houston could never keep pace with the barrage coming from the other dugout.
Grayson Rodriguez was the other half of the story, working seven scoreless innings for Los Angeles, allowing 5 hits and 2 runs, both unearned, while striking out 6. The win improved the Angels to 51-77, snapping their previous skid with a second straight win. Houston, meanwhile, fell to 64-64, losing back-to-back games despite sitting atop its division.