Yordan Alvarez hit a go-ahead RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting the Houston Astros to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night.
Houston loaded the bases in the ninth against reliever Mitch Farris after a mound visit by pitching coach Mike Maddux.
Alvarez turned on a 92.0 mph four-seam fastball just below the zone, sending a 107.1 mph line drive 286 feet into center field to score Nick Allen.
Angels Choose to Pitch to Alvarez
The decision to pitch to Alvarez came one night after the Angels intentionally walked him, which led to a forced-in tying run when Sam Bachman hit Isaac Paredes.
Following Alvarez's single, closer Josh Hader pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 14th save in 14 opportunities, according to MLB.
com.
Alvarez opened the scoring in the first inning with his 35th home run of the season. Christian Walker added a solo homer in the fourth inning for Houston.
Astros starter Peter Lambert allowed two runs and seven hits over five innings, striking out six and walking one.
Angels starter Reid Detmers also pitched five innings, giving up two runs while striking out three before leaving after 84 pitches.
Detmers was making his final start before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, as reported by the Orange County Register.
"I try not to read anything," Detmers said. "Obviously, you see stuff all the time.
Try staying off social media. It's just one of those things.
It is what it is.
Obviously, I'm here now and I'm doing my best I can to help this team win and get to where we want to be and that's all my focus is.
It's out of your control."
Detmers has a 1.65 ERA over three starts since the All-Star break, bringing his season totals to a 4.03 ERA with 145 strikeouts across 125 innings.
Angels manager Kurt Suzuki used six different relievers due to a short-handed bullpen, with Samy Natera Jr. pitching a scoreless eighth inning.
Los Angeles scored two runs, including an RBI single by Vaughn Grissom in the third inning and a fifth-inning double by Jorge Soler that brought home Mike Trout.
The Angels fell to 42-66 after dropping the first two games of the series, while the Astros improved to 54-55 ahead of Wednesday's series finale.
