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Yordan Alvarez got the Astros started with a tape-measure homer Tuesday and then finished off the Angels with the go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning. (Scott Strazzante/Associated Press)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Yordan Alvarez poses a conundrum to every opposing manager. Whether to pitch to the Houston Astros slugger in pivotal situations is always a choice. Many managers hold up four fingers and send him to first base.
Monday, Angels manager Kurt Suzuki did so with his team holding a one-run lead and two runners on base. It moved the lead runner from second to third, and it proved costly when a pitch plunked Isaac Paredes and tied the game.
Tuesday, Alvarez arrived again in a critical spot. This time, the game was tied in the ninth. Again, there were two runners on base. This time, the lead runner already stood on third. The Angels opted to have left-hander Mitch Farris face Alvarez.
Alvarez made the decision hurt, lining a first-pitch fastball from Farris into center field for the go-ahead single. Josh Hader needed four pitches to notch three outs in the bottom of the ninth. And the Astros won 3-2 to secure a series victory at Angel Stadium.
Houston climbed to within one game of .500 for the first time since April 8. It remained two games out of first place in the AL West. Four relievers combined for four scoreless innings to permit it.
A tied game reached the ninth. Pinch-hitter Nick Allen pulled a leadoff double up the line. Lucas Spence squared twice to bunt and failed both attempts before striking out. Christian Vázquez's bloop single just moved Allen to third base as a result.
Farris struck out Jeremy Peña, the shortstop's fourth strikeout of the night, before pitching coach Mike Maddux visited the mound with Alvarez looming. Alvarez negated any strategy discussed.
Both starters worked five innings and allowed two runs. Peter Lambert navigated seven hits in an outing that could have been messier. Reid Detmers surrendered solo home runs to Alvarez and Christian Walker but looked otherwise dominant.
Bullpens held serve into the ninth. Suzuki played matchups, using three relievers for less than three outs each before Samy Natera Jr. recorded four. That included a lineout from Paredes that ended the seventh with two runners on base.
Enyel De Los Santos, Bryan Abreu and Steven Okert each worked scoreless innings for the Astros before Hader, pitching for the fourth time in five days, finished the win.
Five from Lambert
Lambert saw a streak of three quality starts end. But he has worked at least five innings while allowing two or fewer runs in nine of his past 11 starts. Lambert has a 3.06 ERA in 103 innings, just short of the number to qualify for rate stats. Only five qualified AL starters entered play Tuesday with a lower ERA.
Though not his most efficient, Lambert managed traffic. He allowed nine baserunners, stranding seven. His changeup was key. Lambert threw one to strike out Vaughn Grissom and strand two runners in the first. Another induced an inning-ending groundout by Wade Meckler in the third with two on base.
Meckler's ground out followed an RBI single by Grissom, who pulled a cutter into left field. In the fifth, Mike Trout lined a cutter for a single. With two out, Jorge Soler looped a slider down the left-field line and Trout scored to forge a 2-2 tie. A single by Grissom moved Soler to third base.
Lambert got Meckler to swing through a full-count changeup on his 90th pitch of the night, clapping his glove as he hopped off the mound. Lambert generated eight whiffs on 20 swings against the changeup and finished five of six strikeouts with it. Six of seven hits against him were singles.
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Houston Astros' Christian Walker (8) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after his home run against the Los Angeles Angels during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante) (Scott Strazzante/AP Photo/Scott Strazzante)
Strikeouts, homers against Detmers
Detmers struck out nine of 20 batters faced across five innings. The Astros whiffed on 17 of 45 swings against the left-hander, who struck out each starter in their lineup at least once except for Jose Altuve and Cam Smith. Detmers scattered four hits, but two of those cleared the fence.
Alvarez ambushed a first-pitch fastball that Detmers left over the inner half in the first inning, arcing it 421 feet into the seats in right-center field. It was the majors-leading 35th home run of the season for Alvarez, leaving him two short of his career high set in 2022.
Detmers retired nine of his next 10 hitters, five via strikeout. Walker interrupted his rhythm, driving a hanging slider into the Angels bullpen in the fourth inning. It was the 21st home run of the season for Walker and snapped a 14-game homerless streak, his longest of the season.
The Astros did not take an at-bat with a runner in scoring position against Detmers. He ended the fifth inning at 84 pitches. But the Angels turned to their bullpen in the sixth.
Matchup for Abreu
Bryan Abreu continues his reintroduction to leverage situations, a slow process since his abysmal April. The top of the Angels order, led by right-handed sluggers Zach Neto and Trout, came up in the seventh inning of a tied game. Abreu entered to face it.
Abreu struck out Neto, who chased a 96 mph fastball above the zone. A 97 mph fastball in a 2-2 count induced a flyball from Trout that right fielder Cam Smith ran down in foul territory. Abreu then got left-handed hitting Nolan Schanuel to roll over a slider for an inning-ending groundout.
The outing pared Abreu's ERA to 4.91, the first time it has been under 5.00 all season. Abreu has a 2.31 ERA over his last 29 appearances since the start of May.
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There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Yordan Alvarez delivers as Houston Astros strike late again to beat Los Angeles Angels.
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