Astros fail to capitalize on rivals' losses, fall to Angels 4-2

On Saturday, the Athletics and the Mariners took losses. Having the possibility to extend their lead to 6.5 games ahead of both in the American League West Division, the Astros couldn’t take advantage of it. Instead, they also lost 4-2 against the Angels on the second game of the series.

Venezuelans Luis García and José Suárez faced each other in the starter’s duel, but Suárez got the best part. He got the win while García ended up as the losing pitcher, with a rough first third of the game. The Astros’ rookie allowed all of his four earned runs between innings one and three, as a result of a double by Jared Walsh and a two-run homer by Luis Rengifo, who also hit an RBI grounder.

García (now with a 10-7 record) finished his night after five episodes of seven-hit, four-run ball with two walks and three strikeouts.

After launching 16 hits and scoring 10 runs the night before, the Astros’ offense couldn’t enjoy the same results. This time, their hitters left nine runners on base and finished the night 2-for-8 with men in scoring position. They struck out 10 times and four of their six hits were singles, while José Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel, and Carlos Correa combined for 16 hitless at-bats.

The worst news for the team was seeing how Michael Brantley was forced to leave the game with right knee discomfort. José Siri replaced him on the game and got his first MLB hit, a single after nine pitches against Suárez.

On Sunday, both teams will get back on the field to play the final game of this series at 1:10 pm CT. Lance McCullers Jr. will try to keep his momentum going, facing also righty Jaime Barría on the mound.

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