Houston Astros Hosts Los Angeles Angels — Series Preview

The Astros host the Angels three times starting on Friday night.

Gametime & Starting Pitching

Friday at 7:10 PM CT — Reid Detmers (2-8, 4.78) vs. Justin Verlander (6-6, 3.11)
Saturday at 6:15 PM CT — Tyler Anderson (5-3, 4.92) vs. J.P. France (8-3, 2.75)
Sunday at 1:10 PM CT — Chase Silseth (3-1, 3.72) vs. Jose Urquidy (2-2, 6.10)

Standings

Houston Astros: 66-50, .569, second place in the AL West, 2.5 games behind the Texas Rangers. Fourth in the AL, in current possession of the second wildcard position. Sixth in MLB. On pace for 92-70, Last 10 Games: WWWLWLWWWL. Playoff Odds: 83.8 percent.

Los Angeles Angels: 58-58, .500, fourth in the AL West, 10.5 GB. Ninth in the AL. 18th in MLB. On pace for 81-81, Last 10 Games: WLLLLLLLWW. Playoff Odds: 1.2 percent.

Houston and Los Angeles have already played three series this season, totaling 10 games of which Houston won seven. These three will be the last time they’ll see each other until 2024, barring a considerable miracle on the part of LA and their playoff push. Houston won the last time they met, 9-8 despite so-so pitching, on July 16. Rafael Montero (2-3, 6.58) earned the win, striking out two over 1 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Kyle Tucker (14) and Alex Bregman (13) both collected four hits, including a home run each to lead Houston’s offense. Chas McCormick (10, 11) went deep twice on a three-hit night, while Jake Meyers (7) also chipped in with a long ball.

Houston just finished a seven-game roadtrip, taking half of a four-game set against the Bombers and winning two-of-three against the Baltimore Orioles. In the finale, Thursday afternoon, the Orioles won 5-4. The highlight reel below does not feature that game. I embedded the game before that, which Houston won 8-2.

The Angels are coming off a seven-game homestand, getting swept in four games against the Seattle Mariners then winning two-of-three against the San Francisco Giants. Los Angeles won the last one, 4-1 behind a Quality Start from Shohei Ohtani (10-5, 3.17). He struck out five and gave up one unearned run on three hits. Mike Moustakas collected half of LA’s four hits, with a double, a homer, and three RBI.

All-Time Head-to-Head

Houston is 119-78 against the Angels, a 60.4 percent regular season winning percentage that ranks as their second best against any team.

Houston’s All-Time Leaderboard (top 50 movement & milestones)

Plate Appearances
45) Bob Lillis 2044
46) Kyle Tucker 2029

Runs
34) Michael Bourn 302
35) Steve Finley 301
36) Rusty Staub & Yordan Alvarez 297
38) Alan Ashby 282
39) Billy Hatcher 279
40) Kyle Tucker 277

Hits
3) Jose Altuve 1984

Doubles
9) Terry Puhl 226
10) Alex Bregman 222

Home Runs
21) Moises Alou 95
22) Kyle Tucker & Yuli Gurriel 94

37) Jake Marisnick 53
38) Cliff Johnson & Martín Maldonado 52

49) Enos Cabell & John Bateman 45
51) Chas McCormick 43

RBI
29) Moises Alou 346
30) Yordan Alvarez & Denny Walling 345

SB
20) James Mouton 79
21) Kyle Tucker 77

44) Kazuo Matsui 40
45) Alex Bregman 39

Walks
34) Gerald Young 220
35) Greg Gross 218
36) Yordan Alvarez 217

39) Michael Bourn 197
40) Kyle Tucker 196

Wins
47) Charlie Morton & Jack Billingham 29
49) Luis Garcia & Cristian Javier 28

Starts
46) Scott Elarton, Jose Urquidy & Mike Fiers 67
49 Brian Moehler, Brett Myers & Cristian Javier 66

Saves
3) Brad Lidge 123
4) Ryan Pressly 103

Innings Pitched
36) Justin Verlander 659
37) Framber Valdez 656 ¹⁄₃

Strikeouts
23) Bud Norris 643
24) Framber Valdez 641