Jose Abreu had three hits, an RBI and a run to help the Houston Astros post a 7-5 win against the Los Angeles Angels in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night in Anaheim, Calif
Kyle Tucker contributed two hits, an RBI and a run and Mauricio Dubon had two RBIs for the Astros, who had lost three of four heading into the All-Star break
Astros starter J.P. France allowed four runs, two earned, and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out two with issuing a walk. Phil Maton (2-2) got a double-play grounder from the one batter he faced, and Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 21st save
Angels starter Shohei Ohtani (7-5) gave up five runs, four earned, and five hits in five-plus innings. He struck out seven and walked three before leaving with an apparent cracked fingernail
Ohtani also went 2-for-5 at the plate with a run. Taylor Ward had two hits, including a home run, and Mickey Moniak had three hits for the Angels, who have lost a season-high six in a row
An RBI single from Michael Stefanic and a run-scoring groundout by Zach Neto gave the Angels a 2-0 lead in the second inning
Ohtani loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth on a hit batter and consecutive walks.
Corey Julks had an RBI single to cut the deficit to 2-1, and another run came home on a forceout at second to tie the score.
Houston took a 3-2 lead on back-to-back doubles by Alex Bregman and Tucker with one out in the fifth. An error by Angels third baseman Luis Rengifo allowed Tucker to score from second and make it 4-2
Moniak's RBI single in the bottom half of the inning cut the margin to one. Eduardo Escobar pinch-hit for Rengifo and delivered another RBI single to tie the score 4-4.
Maton replaced France and recorded the final two outs of the inning on three pitches, as Mike Moustakas grounded into a double play.
Ohtani departed after walking the leadoff batter in the sixth. His replacement. Jacob Webb, walked the first batter he faced. After a sacrifice bunt, Dubon delivered a two-run single to give Houston a 6-4 lead.
Abreu tacked on a two-out RBI single in the inning to make it 7-4.
Ward hit a solo homer in the seventh, his 10th long ball of the year.
--Field Level Media