Free-falling Angels brace for Christian Walker, Astros

The Los Angeles Angels will try to bounce back from a shellacking when they play the opener of a four-game series against the host Houston Astros on Friday night.

Los Angeles lost 20-3 to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday; the defeat was the Angels' ninth in the last 12 games.

Houston will try to keep the good vibes going after recording a 4-3 home win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday afternoon.

The American League West-leading Astros posted their fifth win in seven games after Christian Walker's second homer of Thursday's contest snapped a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning.

Jose Altuve and Walker hit back-to-back homers in the first inning to give Houston a 2-0 lead.

Walker has 11 of his 21 homers this season since July. He also has 37 RBIs in that span.

"Whatever is happening right now is part of the work that started much earlier in the year," Walker said. "The beauty of the baseball season is the length and the amount of opportunities that you have, and we started working pretty hard pretty early when I didn't like the way I felt. Here we are with three, four months of reps and work and good stuff under my belt, and I think it's showing up in the game for sure."

Walker also has five home runs in his last seven games.

"He's been working his tail off, and we've been getting some big swings from him," Astros manager Joe Espada said. "Him and Altuve, those home runs, the power surge today was great to see "

Right-hander Cristian Javier (1-1, 5.40 ERA) is scheduled to start for Houston on Friday.

Javier is 5-1 with a 3.27 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings in 12 career appearances (eight starts) against the Angels. But his last outing against them did not go well, as he allowed four runs on eight hits in four innings on May 1, 2024.

Los Angeles star Mike Trout has just one homer in his last 24 games. He remains two shy of 400 for his career.

Trout has 20 home runs and 52 RBIs this season, with a. 232 batting average and a .791 OPS.

"I don't know how you (couldn't be thinking about it). It's the elephant in the room, right?" Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said. "Those are milestones that very few attain, let alone have a chance to."

Trout also has been struggling with pain after missing a month with a bruised knee earlier in the season.

"I feel it. It is what it is," Trout said.

Los Angeles outfielder Jo Adell hit his 30th homer on Wednesday.

Left-hander Tyler Anderson (2-8, 4.73 ERA) will start for the Angels on Friday. He is only 2-5 with a 5.84 ERA in 12 appearances (all starts) against the Astros in his career. But Anderson shut out Houston on one hit over 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a win on April 12.

--Field Level Media