For the first time this young season, the Astros’ lineup resembled a functioning one. It took 13 games, yes, but the team with the lowest slugging percentage in baseball entering Friday (which was .291) actually slugged their way out of this early offensive slump. This provides a much-needed boost for a team looking for one at the plate.
The first four innings of the game were relatively uneventful, though. Jake Meyers’ sacrifice fly that drove in Jeremy Peña in the bottom of the second inning opened the scoring, putting Houston ahead 1-0. Mike Trout hit a solo home run off Ronel Blanco to lead off the fourth inning, tying it at one run apiece. Jack Kochanowicz wasn’t exactly cruising in the first four innings, but he was doing enough to keep the Astros from scoring further. Blanco, however, ran into a bit of trouble in the fifth inning, as Jo Adell’s RBI single that drove in Kyren Paris gave Los Angeles an ultimately brief 2-1 lead.
The bottom of the fifth wasn’t promising for Houston, at least based on how the first two batters fared. Both Cam Smith and Mauricio Dubón grounded out, generating two quick outs. With two outs, even with the top of the order coming up, it didn’t feel like it was the inning to do some damage.
Well, I was (thankfully) wrong. I mean, this has been arguably the best sequence of plate appearances by this lineup all season long. Again, only 12 and roughly half games, but you get the point.
Ironically, Dubón accounted for two of the three outs in the fifth inning for Houston, both of which were groundouts. However, with a Yainer Díaz grand slam in the mix, the lineup managed to score six runs, taking a favorable 7-2 lead.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. Logan VanWey made his Major League debut, pitching two scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh. The Angels couldn’t generate any offense to help close the gap. Unfortunately for them, the Astros extended their lead by scoring four more runs, bringing the score to 11-2. It was another busy evening for everyone, good or bad.
Other than Jorge Soler’s RBI single off Tayler Scott to make it 11-3 in the top of the eighth, the Angels did little else in this game. The Astros, however, would score three more runs in the bottom half of the eighth to drive up their run total to 14, thanks to a pair of home runs from Cam Smith (the first of his brief career) and Isaac Paredes.
CAM SMITH 1ST CAREER @MLB HR @astros on SCHN #builtforthis pic.twitter.com/AZsAvMG8uR
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) April 12, 2025
Luis Contreras finished the game, throwing a scoreless ninth inning. And, just like that, the Astros finally achieved double-digit run production in a single game this season. Blanco wasn’t exactly overpowering, but his overall performance (12 whiffs on 40 swings) was sufficient. Game 2 of this series will feature Ryan Gusto making his first career start, with the Angels countering with Tyler Anderson.