Dylan Bundy showed why he should be trusted as an ace, but a late Carlos Correa home run allowed the Houston Astros to defeat the Los Angeles Angels, 4-2. They split the two-game set after a Halos win on Monday, and despite a Mike Trout home run, the Angels fell to 4-2 on the year.
Trout got the scoring going early with his second home run in as many days. He crushed a low breaking ball from Zack Greinke to bring home Shohei Ohtani and give the Angels a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Dylan Bundy, who was a relatively last minute switch into the starting lineup, allowed back-to-back home runs from Kyle Tucker and Aledmys Diaz. It was tied 2-2 midway through the second inning.
Other than the two home runs, Bundy was off to an incredible start. Through three innings, the Angels starting pitcher had struck out seven batters with his fastball sitting around 92-93.
Meanwhile, both offenses had cooled considerably from the first two innings, as a Correa walk was the only baserunner from either side in the third and fourth inning. Bundy and Greinke looked to be in full control of things.
In the top of the sixth, the Astros finally put a dent in Bundy’s armor, getting runners on second and third with only one out. Bundy then got Carlos Correa to pop out and followed it up with a strikeout on Tucker to end the inning without a single run of damage.
That would be it for the day for Bundy, who threw 102 pitches when it was all said and done. In 6.0 innings, he allowed four hits, two walks, and two runs while striking out 10 batters.
Aaron Slegers came in to replace Bundy in the top of the seventh, and quickly worked his way through the bottom of the Astros order. It took only 10 pitches to send the Angels to the seventh inning stretch.
Jose Rojas reached base for the first time in his MLB career in the seventh via the walk. However, Greinke got Max Stassi to ground into a double play shortly after to end the inning.
Mike Mayers was the second pitcher out of the bullpen for the Angels in the eighth as he had to face the top of the Astros order. Despite a deep fly ball from Alex Bregman that got to the warning track, Mayers was able to get through the three batters without a single baserunner.
The bottom of the eighth gave the Angels a solid opportunity to take the lead. Ohtani singled to bring Trout to the plate, similar to the first inning. However, a Trout groundout ended things and sent the game to the ninth tied at 2.
Angels closer Raisel Iglesias was brought in for a non-save situation. He allowed a broken bat single to Yordan Alvarez, and then gave up a two-run home run to Correa to make it 4-2 Astros. In his second non-save situation this season, Iglesias gave up his second home run of the year.
Jared Walsh gave the Angels a chance in the bottom of the ninth by getting on base, but a Justin Upton double play ball quickly ended the game. The Angels dropped their last game of a successful six-game home stand to begin the season.
Looking ahead
The Angels will be in Florida at the temporary home of the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, Apr. 8 at 3:37 p.m. PT. It’ll be Griffin Canning against Ross Stripling on the mound.
