The Los Angeles Angels continued their slide in the American League West standings as they fell 11-3 to the Houston Astros for the second consecutive night. The Angels dropped to 58-60 on the season and 2-9 since the MLB trade deadline.
Tyler Anderson endured another rough start as he yielded seven runs on six hits with six strikeouts against three walks in 4.2 innings pitched. The left-hander had faced the minimum through three innings before imploding in the fourth.
After allowing the first three batters to reach base, Anderson gave up a three-run homer to Kyle Tucker that put the Angels in a four-run deficit. Anderson was removed after loading the bases with two outs in the fifth, and had two more runs charged to him when Dominic Leone allowed an RBI single to Yainer Diaz.
Angels manager Phil Nevin believes Anderson was on top of his game in the first three innings before losing control of his pitches, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“The first three innings, his stuff was as good as he’s had all year,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “The changeup was a difference-maker in those three innings. But his location in the fourth and fifth, it just seems like he lost his command.”
Anderson credited the Astros lineup for taking better swings against him the second time through the order:
“I think the next time through, it was a good part of their lineup obviously and they’ve been swinging the bat well,” Anderson said. “They hit some good pitches, and I made a couple mistakes and didn’t get away with them in those situations.”
Anderson signed a three-year, $39 million contract with the Angels this past offseason after a career year with the Los Angeles Dodgers in which he earned an All-Star selection.
The 33-year-old has had an up-and-down 2023 season to this point, going 5-4 with a 5.28 ERA, 4.41 FIP and 1.52 WHIP in 109 innings across 21 games (20 starts).
Prior to his uneven outing against the Astros, Anderson had been pitching much better of late, posting a solid 3.34 ERA over his last six starts.
Phil Nevin: Astros continue to have Angels number
After dropping the first two games of their series, the Angels fell to just 3-9 against the Astros this season, which prompted Nevin to issue a challenge to his players.
