Ramón Urías hit a two-run home run, and the Houston Astros connected for four total long balls in a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon at Angel Stadium. The result closed the season for both clubs, with Houston missing the postseason for the first time since 2016 and Los Angeles finishing with its 10th consecutive losing record.
Oddsmakers listed the Astros as slight -115 favorites on the moneyline, with the Angels at -105. The over/under was set at 9 runs, and the teams combined for eight, staying just under the total.
The game turned in the fifth inning, when Houston broke a 1-1 tie with a four-run surge. Yainer Díaz started the rally with a solo shot to left, and rookie Brice Matthews followed with another solo homer on the next at-bat. After a pair of singles, Urías drove a two-run homer into the right-field stands to extend the lead to 5-1. Victor Caratini added a solo shot in the sixth inning, his ninth of the season, to give the Astros a comfortable 6-1 advantage.
Houston’s offensive burst backed a strong effort from its pitching staff. Starter Lance McCullers Jr., returning from his fourth stint on the injured list this year, worked three innings and allowed just one run on two hits while striking out four. Colton Gordon followed with five hitless innings of relief, striking out three and walking one to earn the win and finish his season with a 5-5 record. Jayden Murray closed the ninth by striking out Denzer Guzmán and pinch-hitter Taylor Ward with the bases loaded to secure the victory.
For the Angels, Sam Aldegheri took the loss to fall to 0-2. The left-hander allowed four runs on seven hits across 4 2/3 innings. Los Angeles threatened late, stringing together four singles in the ninth to score a run and bring the tying run to the plate, but Murray extinguished the rally.
Mike Trout provided one of the few highlights for Los Angeles with his 26th home run of the season, a 443-foot drive in the first inning that briefly tied the score. Trout finished the season with 64 runs batted in, a .232 batting average, and a .798 on-base plus slugging percentage, both career lows across his 13 full seasons. After hitting just one home run over a 36-game stretch between Aug. 8 and Sept. 19, Trout closed strong with five in his final seven games.
The Angels concluded the year at 72-90, an improvement of nine wins over 2024 but still far from playoff contention. Their postseason drought now extends to 11 years, the third-longest active streak in Major League Baseball. The club also set a franchise record with 1,627 strikeouts, the second-highest single-season total in major league history behind the 2023 Minnesota Twins’ 1,654.
Houston ended the season at 84-78, falling short of a playoff spot despite a late push. The Astros’ elimination marked the first time since 2016 they failed to reach the postseason, closing a run that included two World Series titles and four American League pennants.