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 Left fielder Daniel Robertson's squeeze bunt drove home shortstop
Erick Aybar in the eighth inning, breaking a 3-3 tie and lifting the
Angels to a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium.
It was a big moment for Robertson, who grew up locally as an Angels
fan, attending the same high school (South Hills in West Covina,
Calif.) that produced Jason Giambi, among other major-leaguers.
"We're trying to win the game, so I don't have time to think about
childhood dreams or anything like that because we're in the thick of
things," Robertson said.
Los Angeles moved within 4 1/2 games of first-place Houston in the
American League West.
Through seven innings, Pujols was responsible for all of the Angels'
offense, a two-run homer in the fifth and a solo homer in the
seventh, giving Los Angeles a 3-1 lead.
The two homers were the first baseman's 22nd and 23rd on the season,
tops in the American League. Pujols has 15 homers in his past 24
games, including 12 in the month of June, one away from tying the
club record for homers in a month.
"I'm locked in every day," Pujols said. "You guys go by what the
result is. To myself, it's how good I feel at the plate and how hard
I'm hitting the ball. It's been like that all year. Obviously,
better luck the last six weeks, but myself, all I can do is get
myself ready to play."
Pujols was six outs from hero status before the Astros rallied
against Angels reliever Joe Smith in the eighth. Third baseman
Marwin Gonzalez doubled and scored on a single by catcher Jason
Castro to make it 3-2.
With two outs, second baseman Jose Altuve, back in the lineup after
missing the previous four games with a sore hamstring, hooked a 2-2
pitch into the left field corner for a ground-rule double, tying the
game at 3.
The Angels managed to avoid falling behind when closer Huston Street
replaced Smith and struck out designated hitter Evan Gattis to end
the inning.
Los Angeles came right back in the bottom of the eighth. Aybar led
off with a single, and he went to second on a wild pitch. Pinch
hitter Efren Navarro failed to get Aybar to third, popping out on a
nice over-the-shoulder catch by shortstop Carlos Correa.
Aybar got to third anyway, stealing as pinch hitter Matt Joyce took
ball four. That brought up Robertson.
On a 2-1 pitch from reliever Will Harris, Robertson pushed a bunt at
first baseman Chris Carter, who appeared to have time to get Aybar
at the plate. However, Carter rushed his throw -- a backhanded flip
-- and it went past Castro for an error, allowing Aybar to score the
go-ahead run.
"That's as close to a defenseless play as there is," Astros manager
A.J. Hinch said. "I can put my first baseman at the 45-foot line and
let them steal second, but if they execute the play like that,
that's manufacturing a run, and they did."
Street (3-2) pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the win.
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Chad Qualls (1-4) took the loss, as he was charged with one run on
one hit in one-third of an inning.
Angels left-hander Hector Santiago retired the first six Astros
hitters of the game, but right fielder Domingo Santana launched a
home run to right-center leading off the third, giving Houston a 1-0
lead.
That was Houston's lone run off Santiago, who permitted two hits and
one walk in six innings. He struck out four.
Astros left-hander Brett Oberholtzer gave up two runs on four hits
in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked four.
Oberholtzer's shutout bid ended in the fifth. After center fielder
Mike Trout's two-out walk, Pujols unloaded on a 1-2 pitch, his
two-run homer giving Los Angeles a 2-1 lead.
"Pujols had a big night," Hinch said. "We neutralized Trout a little
bit, which is hard to do, and then Pujols picked them up with some
home runs. ... When Pujols is driving the ball out to the center
part of the field, he's pretty locked in. Both pitches were hittable
pitches for him, but I'm not sure there's an unhittable pitch for
him when he's hot like this."
Astros center fielder George Springer went 0-for-4, ending his
career-best, 14-game hitting streak.
NOTES: Astros 2B Jose Altuve returned to the starting lineup after
missing the previous four games and seven of nine because of a sore
right hamstring. Altuve batted third in the lineup for the fourth
time this season, as manager A.J. Hinch didn't want to disturb CF
George Springer and SS Carlos Correa because they performed well
lately at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. ... Angels RHP Jered Weaver
underwent tests on his left hip that showed no structural damage.
Weaver, though, will not throw for five days and then will be
re-evaluated. The club hopes Weaver, who is 4-8 with a 4.75 ERA in
15 starts, will return soon after the All-Star break. ... Angels 1B
Albert Pujols (23 homers) and CF Mike Trout (18) form the top
homer-hitting duo in the majors. ... The Astros lead the American
League in homers (104) and stolen bases (56).
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