Angels blow lead and lose to Astros in 10 innings

ANAHEIM - Most players find themselves with reporters gathered around them after a game that was very good or very bad, but that's not how it works with closers.

They are mostly noticed when they're bad.

"It seems I'm like every time I pitch, I've got to stand here and talk about it," Angels closer Kirby Yates said. "It's usually not a good thing when you're in the bullpen."

Yates blew a ninth-inning lead in a game the Angels lost, 5-4, to the Houston Astros in 10 innings on Monday night.

While there were plenty of other things the Angels did wrong in this game, mostly on defense, the Yates situation is certainly near the top of the list of issues the Angels must confront soon.

Manager Kurt Suzuki was asked after the game if they'll consider right-hander Sam Bachman to get save opportunities going forward.

"We have to evaluate it," Suzuki said. "Definitely we have to go back and look at what gives us the best chance to win, for sure."

Yates, 39, has a 5.23 ERA in 12 games. He missed the start of the season with a knee injury. He has one save and two blown saves. He also suffered a loss when he entered in a tie game and allowed a walk-off homer to the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman on Friday night.

He's allowed a run in three of his last four games.

"It's frustrating," Yates said. "My job's to get three outs at the end of the game, right? I haven't been doing that. You've got to bite the bullet and take it on the chin. It's not always easy."

Yates entered in the ninth with a 4-3 lead that Zach Neto had given the Angels with his tiebreaking homer in the seventh. Bachman got through the eighth, but then Yates had to face the top of the Astros' lineup in the ninth.

Yates walked leadoff hitter Jeremy Peña. Yates then struck out the most dangerous hitter, Yordan Alvarez. Peña stole second, though, and he scored when Christian Walker punched a single up the middle. Yates threw him a 92 mph fastball.

"I think the difference is and the frustration is now, as opposed to maybe in the past, is that I'm not getting away with a whole lot of mistakes," Yates said. "It seems like the bad pitches are kind of costing me games and that's frustrating. It's an adjustment. Can't walk the leadoff guy there and I did. There's two pitches I want back, and it's the 3-2 (to Peña) and it's the pitch to Walker. Other than that, I thought I threw the ball pretty well, but we lost because of it. And that's a tough pill to swallow."

After Yates gave up the lead in the ninth, the Angels' defense allowed the Astros to score the go-ahead run in the 10th.

The inning began with the Astros' Brice Matthews bunting down the third-base line. Third baseman Denzer Guzman, who had no play and should have let the ball roll foul, instead picked it up, so Matthews had a hit.

"I heard somebody yell, ‘Let it go. Let it go,' and then by the time he was probably grabbing it, it was too late," Suzuki said.

Left-hander Sam Aldegheri bounced back with a strikeout and then he got a pop-up that second baseman Nick Madrigal caught just in the outfield grass. José Altuve, who was at third, took off toward the plate even though the ball was hit so shallow. Madrigal's throw bounced past catcher Logan O'Hoppe, so the run scored.

Madrigal could have made a better throw, but O'Hoppe also could have handled it better.

"Trying to create some space on the hop and it ate me up," O'Hoppe said. "It was in between. He was further down the line than I thought. Plays at the plate are usually bang-bang plays. I made the best read that I thought with the information I had. It's a punch in the face, for sure."

By contrast, the Astros executed perfectly on defense in the bottom of the inning.

José Siri led off with a single into left. Mike Trout, who was the automatic runner at second, came steaming around toward the plate. Matthews, the left fielder, made a perfect throw, and nailed Trout.

"The guy made a perfect throw," Suzuki said. "The catcher did a good job of applying the tag. You can live with that."

Siri took second on the throw, so the Angels still had two chances to knock in the tying run. Jo Adell struck out and Guzman hit a fly out, as the Angels (25-42) lost.

All of that spoiled some good moments earlier in the game.

Neto homered for the third straight game to put the Angels on top in the seventh. O'Hoppe delivered a two-run single to cap a three-run second inning against Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, who has become the ace of their injury-ravaged rotation.

Trey Mancini, playing his first game since 2023, had three hits, including an RBI single in the second inning.

The Angels also could have done more in the early innings. Although the Angels got three runs in the second, they left the bases loaded. They also had two on and no outs in the fourth and came up empty.

Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez also had a night of mixed results. He gave up three runs (two earned) in 5⅓ innings, which was certainly an improvement on the seven runs he gave up in a loss to Colorado Rockies last week.

His fastball averaged 97 mph, which was up from previous outings. Rodriguez threw several eye-opening pitches, like the changeup that whiffed Alvarez in the first. He also struck out Walker on a 97 mph fastball to strand two runners in the fifth.

In between, though, Rodriguez left some balls over the middle and they were hit hard. He gave up six hits, including five doubles. Three of those doubles came in the first four batters he faced in the sixth inning, scoring two runs and tying the game at 3-3.

"Better than the last one, but really kicking myself over what happened in that sixth inning," Rodriguez said. "The team was playing too well at that point for me to go out there and do that. I'm going to have a tough time sleeping tonight over that sixth inning."

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 10:31 PM.