HOUSTON -- The Astros will wake up Friday morning in first place with 34 games remaining, a fact from which they can take solace after what happened Thursday night at Daikin Park. With a chance to win a series against a team with the second-worst record in the American League, the Astros instead endured their most lopsided loss in nearly three years.
The loss underscored what has been a challenging month for the Astros, which began with a feel-good sweep of the Rangers. They have struggled to stack wins since and have lost four of their last five games. The Angels hadn’t won a road series since May.
“I know that the amount of runs they scored is kind of eye-opening, but for us it’s another loss,” Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez said. “Tomorrow we have an important series coming up [vs. the Athletics] and it’s a series that we have to go out there and play our baseball [that] we know how to play and try and maintain that first place in the division.”
The Astros, who have lost seven of their last 11 games to drop back to .500 (64-64), fell to 2-4 on a nine-game homestand that presented an opportunity to perhaps take control of the division against the Mariners, Angels and A’s -- all three of whom have a losing record.
In an AL West race where no team has a winning record, all three front-runners -- the Astros, Rangers and Mariners -- have the same run differential: minus-46. Despite Thursday’s outcome, Houston is in the best spot with a one-game lead and the season tiebreaker over the Rangers.
“I think we’re just in a little bit of a [rough] patch,” said Astros first baseman Christian Walker, who didn’t play Thursday. “I think we’re confident. Like where we’re at -- really good spot moving forward for the rest of the season, and I’d say generally the vibe is high. Just have to get back on track.”
The A’s come to Houston this weekend, before the Astros head to New York for back-to-back series at the Yankees and Mets. The following 12 games will be against teams in contention -- the White Sox and D-backs in Houston and the Phillies and Rays on the road. Houston will have a much clearer picture of where it will be in October by then.
“We have to get rid of this series and get ready to play tomorrow,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Our guys are very much aware of what we need to do. They know that we control our own destiny. When teams play us, we have that target on our back [because] teams are playing a first-place team. We just did not play well tonight.”
Peter Lambert, who’s been the Astros’ best starting pitcher this season, gave up nine runs in 3 2/3 innings, and reliever Bryan King followed by allowing five runs in 1 1/3 innings, including a three-run homer by Zach Neto in the fifth that gave the Angels a 14-2 lead.
“All around, pretty poor game,” Lambert said. “A lot of baseruners, wasn’t able to finish guys, gave up some badly timed hits -- all of the above.”
Lambert, who leads the Astros in starts and innings pitched, was 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA in his previous 15 starts, with Houston winning 11 of those games. The nine runs allowed tied his career high, set Aug. 7, 2019, when he was with the Rockies and playing the Astros in Houston.
“Obviously, he’s been really good with his command and execution and getting outs and creating some swing and miss,” Espada said. “Today was not the best. A lot of pitches out over the plate. They put some really good swings [on balls] and hit some balls hard. We didn’t handle the ball well. We had a few plays that cost us some extra pitches, some extra outs. He’s been one of our best starters all year.”
Houston’s offense has struggled for much of August, which coincides with slumps by shortstop Jeremy Peña, Alvarez and Walker. Peña was out Thursday with a right hand contusion, and Walker (2-for-30 slump) was given a breather. Alvarez has two homers in his past 24 games (83 at-bats).
“The good teams find a way to hit the gas pedal and some teams kind of sputter,” Walker said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to hit the gas pedal with these guys and finish things out strong.”