Zach Neto hit two home runs and brought in six runs, helping the Los Angeles Angels come from behind twice to defeat the Houston Astros 9-8 on Sunday.
“At the end of the game there, his last three at-bats he took the game over,” said Angels manager Ron Washington. “He has that capability. … He got us the win.”
The Angels were down 4-0 in the sixth inning but scored two runs in consecutive innings. They took the lead in the eighth when Neto hit a solo home run.
“We’ve got a lot of grit, we’ve got a lot of fight on this team,” Neto said, who cut the lead in half in the sixth with a two-run homer during his second career multi-homer game. “We trust in each other to put us in the best spots and just being able to come through.”
The Astros answered with two runs in the bottom of the eighth, but the Angels scored four runs in the ninth. With the bases loaded against Astros closer Josh Hader, Taylor Ward walked to tie the game, and then Neto hit a double down the left-field line, bringing in three more runs.
“Can’t let the first guy get on, that was the first problem,” Hader said. “Hung a slider to Pillar and then they just started jumping on the fastball up.”
This was Hader’s fourth blown save of the season. Hader (8-8) allowed four runs on three hits, walked two, and struck out none in one-third of an inning.
With a 9-6 lead, Jose Quijada gave up two RBI singles to Yainer Diaz and Victor Caratini, narrowing the gap to one run.
“Not quitting until the last out of the game, that fight, that’s what it’s all about,” said Astros manager Joe Espada. “We were one swing away from winning that game. I give credit to those boys. They fight until the end.”
The Angels brought in Guillo Zuniga to finish the game. He struck out Jeremy Pena with the tying run on third base. This was Zuniga’s second save of the season, while Brock Burke (2-1) got the win.
“We held on and we won,” Washington said. “It should have been an easier victory, but that team over there is relentless, and they showed it again. But we were also relentless and holding on.”
Houston (85-71) starts a three-game series with Seattle (80-76) on Monday and has a chance to secure the AL West title with a win in that series.
“One game at a time,” Espada said. “I just saw Texas won, which is good news for our club. But we just have to take care of our business.”
The Astros’ bullpen gave up seven runs to the Angels in the last three innings of the game.
“They’ve been so good, our bullpen has been lights out,” Espada said. “Just one of those nights.”
Spencer Arrighetti allowed two runs on five hits, did not walk anyone, and struck out six in six innings, but did not get a decision.
“I thought he threw the ball really well,” Espada said. “When he came in, his body wasn’t feeling great, so I decided to hand the ball to the bullpen.”
Angels starter Griffin Canning gave up four runs on six hits, walked three, and struck out three in 4 1/3 innings.
Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman hit home runs in the fifth inning. This was Altuve’s 20th homer of the season, and he also has 22 stolen bases this year, marking his first 20-20 season since 2017.
