Houston 13, LA Angels 3
When: 10:05 PM ET, Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Where: Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California
Temperature:
79°
Umpires:
Home -
James Hoye, 1B -
John Hirschbeck, 2B -
Bill Welke, 3B -
John Tumpane
Attendance:
41208
By The Sports Xchange
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- When they were losing 100-plus games a year, the Houston Astros were young.
Now that they are in first place in the American League West, they are not just young, they are good.
Their youngest player -- 20-year-old shortstop Carlos Correa -- finished a triple shy of the cycle Tuesday night, leading the Astros to a 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Correa, a former No. 1 overall draft choice, is making a big splash since his June 8 call-up. He is hitting .308 with four homers and 11 RBIs through 15 games.
On Tuesday, he had a single, a double and a three-run home run by the fourth inning, but he failed to complete the cycle in his final three at-bats.
"No," Correa answered when asked if he was upset he didn't hit for the cycle. "It's not about hitting for the cycle, it's about helping your team win the game, and we were able to get the win. It was a great day."
Correa, who drove in four runs, had plenty of help, as the Astros banged out 16 hits. Third baseman Luis Valbuena hit a solo homer in the fourth inning and a two-run shot in the fifth, raising his team-leading total to 19 and increasing the Astros' major-league-leading total to 107. Valbuena wound up 3-for-5 with three runs.
"Be aggressive," Valbuena said when asked to explain his newfound power. His previous season-high was 16 homers in 2014 with the Chicago Cubs. "That's all. Be aggressive on the swing and look for the right pitch."
Houston catcher Hank Conger had three hits, and left fielder Colby Rasmus and right fielder Domingo Santana each had two.
Astros right-hander Collin McHugh (8-3) benefitted from the onslaught. He gave up two runs on nine hits in eight innings, his only blemish coming on left fielder Efren Navarro's two-run single in the fourth inning. Navarro had three of the Angels' 11 hits.
Angels lefty C.J. Wilson (5-6) had his worst start of the season, giving up a season-high seven runs in a season-low 3 1/3 innings.
"He got ahead of some guys but gave some counts back," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "The mistakes that he made, those guys hit a long way. I don't know if C.J. ever got into rhythm. He'll turn the page on this one."
It was evident early that Wilson was in for a tough night. The Astros hit the ball hard early, scoring in the first inning on a double by designated hitter Evan Gattis before Correa's three-run homer in the second inning made it 4-0.
Wilson couldn't make it out of the fourth inning, getting charged with three more runs, including one on Valbuena's first homer of the night.
Though the Astros swung the bats well Tuesday, Scioscia said there is a way to get them out.
"They also have a lot of holes in their swings," he said. "Their guys are driving the ball. You see some guys, Valbuena is a dangerous hitter, but he's hitting under .200. There are some spots that you can get to to contain these guys. We did it (Monday) night; it didn't happen tonight.
"You make some mistakes and they square it up, they can hit it out of the park. They lead the planet in home runs, but you dissect hitters and have game plans, it's a matter of getting it done."
NOTES: With 23 homers in the club's first 72 games, Angels 1B Albert Pujols is on pace to finish the season with 52 home runs. His career high is 49 (2006), and the club record is 47 (Troy Glaus in 2000). ... The Astros improved to 29-2 in multiple-homer games this season. ... Angels CF Mike Trout has no stolen bases since May 22, and he has not attempted a steal since May 29. He has eight steals this season. ... Astros SS Carlos Correa, at 20 years old, is the youngest position player in the majors.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Houston
|
16 |
3 |
29 |
.372 |
23 |
8 |
11 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
LA Angels
|
11 |
0 |
13 |
.297 |
18 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |