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 Houston right-hander Collin McHugh continued his torrid stretch
of pitching while designated hitter Chris Carter supplied another
multi-home-run game as the Astros spoiled a two-game series for the
Los Angeles Angels with a 4-1 win on Wednesday night at Minute Maid
Park.
McHugh (8-9) was lifted with two outs in the eighth inning, having
allowed just one run on four hits with no walks and eight
strikeouts.
Before right-hander Jose Veras retired Angels center fielder Mike
Trout to close the eighth, McHugh had retired six consecutive
batters and 16 of 17.
In seven appearances since an Aug. 1 start against the Toronto Blue
Jays, McHugh has allowed nine earned runs, going 4-0 with a 1.79
ERA.
"Being able to make pitches when you needed them, I think that was
really important for me tonight," McHugh said. "They've got some
boppers in the lineup, guys that can go out and get it and hit the
ball out of the park. So you've got to try and make good pitches and
execute as well as you possibly can."
The Astros (61-79) clung to a 2-1 lead entering their final at-bat.
That was before second baseman Jose Altuve extended his hitting
streak to 11 games with a one-out double and Carter added his second
homer of the game and 35th on the season -- a two-run,
opposite-field shot to right field off Angels right-hander Fernando
Salas. Carter set a franchise record with his seventh multi-homer
game of the season.
Astros right-hander Chad Qualls recorded his 17th save by setting
the Angels (83-55) down in order in the ninth. The heart of the
Angels' order -- Trout, first baseman Albert Pujols and left
fielder/designated hitter Josh Hamilton -- finished 1-for-24 with
one RBI in the series.
"Nobody wants to roll over like we did last year," Carter said.
"It's just nice to win games against teams in contention right now."
From the very start, McHugh and Angels right-hander Jered Weaver
(15-8) made clear their intentions were to engage in a pitcher's
duel.
McHugh allowed a leadoff single to Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun
in the first inning and then responded by retiring the next six
batters.
Weaver worked a perfect first inning, surrendered a leadoff home run
to Carter in the second, and then retired the next six batters.
"That's why I like pitching in Anaheim," Weaver said. "I thought he
kind of mishit it, hit it off the bat, but he's strong as an ox.
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"He's put up some home runs this season -- it's no secret -- and he
hit a couple of them again tonight."
The Astros' 1-0 lead was short-lived, however, after the Angels used
an error to pull even in the third inning.
With runners on the corners and one out, McHugh induced a sharp grounder
off the bat of Trout that ate up shortstop Jonathan Villar and allowed
left fielder Efren Navarro to score.
In the fourth, the Astros manufactured a run to push ahead to stay, with
center fielder Dexter Fowler drawing a one-out walk before swiping
second and scoring on a two-out single by catcher Jason Castro. The
Angels had reeled off six consecutive wins before stumbling twice to the
Astros, but with Oakland losing to Seattle, no harm was done.
"The thing about this major league schedule is: It doesn't matter what a
team's record is," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "It doesn't matter
if some teams don't have as many wins as they'd hoped at whatever point
of the season. It comes down to who's on that mound and the lineup out
on that field that can beat any club on any given day. Houston's played
us tough."
NOTES: Angles RHP Matt Shoemaker was named American League Pitcher and
Rookie of the Month for August, becoming the ninth player in history to
garner both player/pitcher and rookie honors in the same month.
Shoemaker went 6-1 with a 1.31 ERA and joins RHP Dean Chance (1964) as
the only Angels pitchers with six wins in August. ... The Astros honored
members of Pearland East All-Star Little League before the game.
Pearland, a suburb 16 miles south of Houston, won the Southwest Regional
Championship to land a berth in the Little League World Series, where
they finished fourth in the USA Bracket. ... Astros interim manager Tom
Lawless aims to get RHP Nick Tropeano a relief appearance before
inserting him into the rotation, an appearance that is likely to come
during an upcoming nine-game trip to the West Coast. Lawless wants
Tropeano, a Pacific Coast League All-Star, to make two or three starts
before the end of the season.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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