A decisive five-run second inning, punctuated by Isaac Paredes’ three-run home run, powered the Houston Astros to a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park. The win secured the series for Houston and marked another strong offensive performance led by timely hitting and dominant pitching.
Paredes, who has homered in three consecutive games, launched a 374-foot shot into the Crawford Boxes in left field off Angels starter Kyle Hendricks. The blast came after RBI singles by Cam Smith and Mauricio Dubón had already put the Astros on top 2-1 in the frame. Paredes’ homer extended the lead to 5-2 and gave Houston a cushion it would not relinquish.
Astros right-hander Hayden Wesneski (1-1) delivered a career-best outing, striking 10 batters over six innings. He allowed three runs, all on solo homers, and surrendered five hits. Wesneski was particularly efficient through the middle innings, retiring 11 straight Angels hitters at one point before a two-out single by Kevin Newman in the fifth inning snapped the streak.
The Angels scored with Taylor Ward’s leadoff home run at the top of the first, his 10th career leadoff home run. Ward, who has five home runs in his last five games, was a bright spot in an otherwise struggling lineup. Nolan Schanuel added a solo home run in the second inning to tie the score briefly at 2-2, before Houston’s offensive outburst put the game out of reach.
Jorge Soler’s solo homer in the sixth, his fourth of the season, accounted for the third and final Angels run.
Hendricks (0-1) was tagged with the loss, yielding five runs on four hits across four innings. It was a departure from his previous form, where he had allowed just two earned runs over 11 innings across his first two starts of the year.
Houston extended its lead in the later innings with a Jeremy Peña RBI groundout in the sixth and a sacrifice fly by Jose Altuve in the seventh. That gave the bullpen additional breathing room, although Wesneski and the relievers maintained control throughout. Bryan Abreu’s strikeout of Ward with two runners on in the seventh was a key moment that preserved a three-run lead.
Astros pitchers were in command from start to finish, combining for 16 strikeouts and not issuing a single walk.
With the victory, Houston improved its record to 12-10. The Angels dropped to 8-14 following the loss, continuing a rocky start to the season.
The betting odds prior to the game listed the Astros as home favorites, -145 on the moneyline, while the Angels were priced around +125. The total runs over/under was set at 8.5, a number that was surpassed late in the game as both teams combined for 10 runs.
Next, Houston travels to St. Louis, where left-hander Framber Valdez (1-1, 2.50 ERA) will start Monday’s series opener. The Angels will have an off day before beginning a three-game series in Texas on Tuesday, with left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (0-2, 5.00 ERA) scheduled to start.
