ANAHEIM -- The line between winning and losing couldn’t have been thinner for the Astros on Monday night, with a series of plays going their way late, including two at the plate that sent Houston to a 5-4 win over the Angels in 10 innings in a breathtaking finish at Angel Stadium.
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve scored the winning run on a mad dash from third base on a popup that second baseman Nick Madrigal caught about 10 feet onto the outfield grass. Rookie Brice Matthews -- who entered the game in left field in the sixth inning after LaMonte Wade Jr. injured his right hamstring -- then threw out a sliding Mike Trout at the plate in the bottom of the inning to preserve the win.
Here’s a closer look at five clutch moments:
The steal
Down 4-3 in the ninth, Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña stole second base with one out -- the safe call was upheld following a replay review -- and he scored moments later on an RBI single by Christian Walker, who drove in a pair to tie Nick Kurtz and teammate Yordan Alvarez for the American League lead with 48 RBIs.
“We’ve got to take a chance,” Peña said. “I felt like I had a good beat on [reliever Kirby] Yates and we’ve got to play aggressive. We’ve got to manufacture runs. We knew it was a low-scoring game.”
The bunt
Matthews led off the 10th with Altuve at second base as the automatic runner and put down a bunt. The ball was rolling foul, but rookie third baseman Denzer Guzman inexplicably fielded it even though he didn’t have a play on the speedy Matthews. The single put runners at first and third with no outs.
“The catcher [Logan O’Hoppe] was yelling, ‘Let it go!’ and [Guzman] picked it up and I got a hit,” Matthews said. “We got the runner over. That’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
The mad dash
Cam Smith followed Matthews with a strikeout, and Jake Meyers hit a popup that carried a backpedaling Madrigal onto the outfield grass. With rookie nine-hole hitter Collin Price on deck, Altuve made the decision to try to score from third. Madrigal caught the ball and took a step back as Altuve tagged up, but his throw home skipped past O’Hoppe, allowing a sliding Altuve to score the go-ahead run.
“That was kind of like a bad play with a good result,” Altuve said. “We ended up winning the game, so we’re going to take it.”
Altuve sprinted home at 29.3 feet per second, showing he still has wheels at 36 years old.
“I had the adrenaline going in that moment, so I was ready for a fly ball to the outfield,” he said. “Obviously, it was a little shorter, but I was kind of, like, committed to go.”
Said Peña: “I was just talking to him [and said] ‘You’re either a ballsy player or something’s missing up there.' He plays the game aggressive. Shoutout to Altuve. He has no fear when he plays out there, and that's what we need. We need guys that are willing to take chances and put their bodies on the line to win games.”
The throw
Still, the Astros needed more late-inning heroics. Enter Matthews, who fielded a single off the bat of Jose Siri with no outs in the 10th inning and threw out Trout trying to score from second base with a one-hopper to the plate. Price, making his second career start, applied the tag. Matthews threw the ball 149 feet at 93.2 mph for his first career outfield assist.
“You see the great throw in the game, but people don’t see the preparation behind that throw,” Peña said. “Even though he wasn’t starting, he was ready. He was warming since the third inning. He was ready to go in, he was ready to run, he was ready to hit, he was ready to play defense.”
The end
Bryan Abreu, the embattled reliever who lost his role as closer with a woeful start to the season, continued to show his progress by pitching a scoreless 10th, reaching 97.2 mph with his fastball -- his fastest pitch since April 12.
“I’ll vouch for him until the end of the earth,” Peña said. “He puts in the work, he grinds, he’s out there competing. He’s going to figure it out. Today was a great outing. He looked good, his pitches looked sharp. He’s not going to stop until he’s dominating again. I’ll ride for Abreu until the end of time.”