The Angels will attempt to even the series with Houston as they send Garrett Richards to the mound to face Lance McCullers of the Astros. It’s the latest the Astros have been atop their division since September 21, 2003, when they led the NL Central.
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“It’s big; not being in there stinks”, said Trout, who is batting.
With Albert Pujols and Mike Trout clearly giving it all they possibly can, the Angels need to be sure to capitalize on all the energy being produced and not let it go to waste.
His season also includes a lead-off home run in the All-Star Game off Zack Greinke, and his second consecutive All-Star Most Valuable Player Award.
Shane Victorino, who was making his debut with the Angels after a trade from Boston on Monday, singled to start the second.
Valbuena advanced to third base on a wild pitch and scored when right fielder Colby Rasmus followed with a sacrifice fly to left field. Jonathan Papelbon worked the ninth to pick up the save in his first appearance since the Nats acquired him from Philadelphia.
Singleton’s shot chased Richards with one out in the seventh and pushed the lead to 4-1.
The Astros average 4.43 runs per game (5th) with an overall run differential of +72 (4th).
“The initial impact of the swing is where it bothered me”, he said. “It’s definitely a good chance for me to kind of like be happy about what I did today. I have to take the positives away from that”.
The Astros offense collected 14 hits and put ten runs on the board in what ended up being a 10-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Kluber (6-11) held Kansas City to five hits. The outcome gives Washington a three-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East.
The Astros entered the day a game behind Los Angeles in the standings. Detroit finished with 16 hits, including three apiece by Cespedes, Ian Kinsler and Jose Iglesias. Last season, his team was swept by the Royals, and Trout was 1 for 12.
Cleveland beat Oakland 3-1 as Carlos Carrasco struck out seven in a two-hitter. He has allowed just two earned runs in his past 30 innings for a 0.60 ERA. “My first-pitch strikes weren’t there”.
The Cubs trailed the Brewers 2-0 until Anthony Rizzo crushed a three-run homer in the eighth inning of Chicago’s 5-2 triumph at Milwaukee.
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McCullers (5-3) allowed five hits and one run with five strikeouts to lower his ERA to 2.48. “But it’s going to be like that for a couple of days”. 268 with six home runs, 20 doubles, two triples and 33 RBIs in 67 games for the A’s, who are last in the AL West.
