Christian Walker hit two home runs and the Houston Astros powered past the Los Angeles Angels 6-1 on Saturday night at Angel Stadium, just hours after Houston was officially eliminated from postseason contention.
Sportsbooks listed Houston as -125 favorites on the moneyline, with Los Angeles at +105. The total was set at 9 runs, and the teams combined for seven, finishing under.
Houston’s playoff fate was sealed earlier in the evening when Cleveland defeated Texas 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning at Progressive Field. The Guardians’ victory clinched the final American League playoff spot and snapped the Astros’ streak of eight consecutive postseason appearances. That run included seven straight trips to the AL Championship Series from 2017 through 2023 and World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.
Despite the elimination, the Astros responded strongly at the plate. Zach Cole opened the scoring in the second inning when he followed Yainer Díaz’s single with a two-run home run off Los Angeles rookie starter Caden Dana. Walker extended the lead in the fourth with a solo shot to left, his 26th of the season. Two batters later, Jesús Sánchez added a two-run homer to right, stretching the margin to 5-0. Walker capped the scoring in the ninth with his second homer of the night, a solo blast to left that marked his 27th of the year.
Houston manager Joe Espada rested his top three hitters — José Altuve, Isaac Paredes, and Carlos Correa — after two innings, giving younger players extended time on the field with the postseason no longer in play. The changes did little to slow the offense, as Houston finished with nine hits and four home runs.
On the mound, Astros rookie AJ Blubaugh made his final start of the season, working four scoreless innings while allowing only one hit. J.P. France followed in relief and picked up the win, his first of the season, by striking out five over three innings. France allowed two hits and issued one walk but limited the damage to a sixth-inning RBI double by Jo Adell. After Adell’s run-scoring hit and a walk to Logan O’Hoppe, France responded by striking out Christian Moore and Oswald Peraza to escape the jam.
Dana, making his fourth career start, pitched seven innings and gave up five runs on five hits while striking out five. The loss dropped him to 0-4 on the season. The Angels managed just four hits overall, continuing a trend of offensive struggles that has defined their late-season slide.
The game held little significance in the standings, but it underscored the end of an era for Houston. Sunday’s finale will mark only the fourth game the Astros have played since 2015 with no playoff implications, the previous three coming in the final days of the 2016 campaign.
The series concludes Sunday with right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. (2-5, 6.71 ERA) scheduled to start for Houston against Los Angeles left-hander Sam Aldegheri (0-1, 8.00 ERA).