Eighteen runs. That’s what the Los Angeles Angels dropped on the Houston Astros last night in a brutal 18-3 beatdown. This wasn’t just a loss; it was a humiliation, one of those games that makes you question everything when you’re watching your team stumble like this.
Angels Pounce on Astros’ Early Missteps
The scoring started early for both sides, but it was clear from the jump which team was actually here to play. Astros pitcher Grayson Rodriguez kicked things off by throwing 12 of his first 14 pitches for balls, immediately issuing walks to Lamont Wade Jr and Yordan Alvarez. Isaac Paredes singled to load the bases, and then the Angels basically handed them more runs with a throwing error by Vaughn Grissom and a wild pitch. Bam, two runs on the board just like that. But here’s the kicker: that “promising” start for the Astros was short-lived. The Angels wasted no time getting their own runs. Wade Meckler started with a hit and Zach Neto brought him home with a single to right field, his 55th RBI of the year. He was just getting warmed up!
In the second inning, the Angels really started stringing hits together. Moises Ballesteros doubled, Grissom singled him home, and then Josh Lowe singled. Tyler Heineman dropped a sacrifice bunt that scored Grissom. The Astros again got in their own way, with Peter Lambert throwing an error that stretched LA’s lead to 4-2. Every mistake felt amplified, and the Angels were there to capitalize on every single one.
Lambert’s Nightmare & Neto’s Rampage
The fourth inning is where things truly unraveled for Houston. Josh Lowe started with a single, then Adam Frazier doubled him home. Peter Lambert began to absolutely labor, walking Meckler and Trout. Neto, not done yet, registered another RBI by bringing home Frazier with a single. That was it for Lambert. His final line: 3.2 innings pitched, nine runs, and eight hits allowed. Brutal. This early exit forced the Astros to tap into their bullpen, and Bryan King inherited a bases-loaded mess. He couldn’t stop the bleeding. Ballesteros and Grissom continued the damage, piling on six runs in that fourth frame alone.
It went from bad to worse. In the fifth, Wade Meckler was hit in the helmet by King and had to leave the game, a scary moment in an already disastrous night. LA then added four more runs, with three of them coming off a moon shot to deep center from Zach Neto. Fourteen runs were on the board after five innings, marking the most runs Houston has given up in any single game this season. King allowed five runs on the night, just adding insult to injury.
Astros in a Hole, Neto on Fire
With the game a complete blowout, Tatsuya Imai made only his third appearance of August. And guess who was there to greet him? Zach Neto, hitting a two-run, two-out RBI double, pushing the score to 16-2. Neto was absolutely unreal, going 5-6 on the night and driving in a staggering seven RBIs. Seven! It was a historic night for him, and a historically bad one for Houston.
This loss isn’t just one game; it’s a huge red flag. The Astros have now dropped four of their last five series, only managing to take two of three from the “G” in that stretch. They’re struggling, making uncharacteristic errors, and getting absolutely lit up on the mound. When a team gets humiliated like this, it forces a hard look in the mirror. They need to figure out how to stop the bleeding, and fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply