Mauricio Dubón launched two home runs. Josh Hader remained flawless in save opportunities by retiring Mike Trout with the tying run on base, helping the Houston Astros edge the Los Angeles Angels 8-7 on Sunday to take the series finale.
Dubón delivered his second career multi-homer game, sparking Houston’s offense with a solo blast off Angels starter Kyle Hendricks in the fifth and a two-run shot off reliever Hunter Strickland in the sixth that gave the Astros a 6-5 lead.
Jeremy Peña followed with an RBI double, and Jake Meyers added a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to 8-5.
The Angels responded with an RBI single from Nolan Schanuel in the seventh, and Zach Neto added a solo homer off Hader in the ninth to close the gap to one. However, with the tying run on second, Hader induced a lineout from Trout to secure his 19th save in as many tries.
Peña also homered in the fifth following Dubón’s first shot, tying the game at 2-2. Meyers scored the go-ahead run after a single and a throwing error by third baseman Luis Rengifo. Christian Walker’s RBI double made it 4-2 Astros.
Logan O’Hoppe hit his third two-run homer in two days in the second inning, driving in Taylor Ward to give the Angels a 2-0 lead. He has 17 home runs on the season, inching closer to Lance Parrish’s team record of 22 for a catcher set in 1990.
The Angels briefly regained the lead in the third when LaMonte Wade Jr. and Christian Moore singled ahead of Schanuel’s three-run homer, his sixth of the season, making it 5-4.
Ryan Gusto (5-3) earned the win for Houston, allowing five runs and six hits with seven strikeouts across six innings. Hendricks (5-7) surrendered five runs—three earned—over five frames, while Strickland gave up his first three earned runs and took the loss.
Key Moment
Down 8-6 in the seventh with two runners on, Trout had a chance to tie or take the lead for the Angels. But Bryan Abreu, replacing Bryan King, struck him out on three pitches, ending the threat.
Key Stat
Trout went just 1 for 11 in the series after entering as the active MLB leader against the Astros with 30 homers, 30 doubles, and 73 RBI.
Up Next
On Tuesday, the Astros return to Houston to open a series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Angels will open a series at home against the Boston Red Sox on Monday. Their starting pitcher has yet to be announced. RHP Walker Buehler (5-5, 5.95 ERA) is set to start for Boston.