As soon as the ball left Alex Bregman's bat, he looked up as if he thought it was a home run. As soon as Justin Upton started heading back toward the left-field wall at Angel Stadium, he looked as if he, too, thought it was a home run. He even leaped.

It wasn't a home run.

On Thursday night at Angel Stadium, with the Astros' Jose Altuve on first base and one out in the top of the first, Bregman connected on a 1-0 pitch from Felix Pena and sent it deep to left. Upton started back, looking and running, looking and running, and then he turned his back on the play and leaped at the wall ... and the ball dropped well short of the wall.

Upton fell as the ball bounced into and off the wall. Altuve raced around the bases and scored as center field Brian Goodwin retrieved the ball. Bregman pulled into second with a double.

The next batter, Michael Brantley, really hit one over the wall, in right field this time, and the Astros had a 3-0 lead.