ANAHEIM, Calif.: Reid Detmers pitched six innings of three-hit ball to earn his first major league victory, and the Los Angeles Angels avoided a three-game sweep with a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.
David Fletcher and Jo Adell drove in runs with grounders to back Detmers (1-2), who struck out six and gave up one run while outdueling Lance McCullers Jr. in just his third major league start. Phil Gosselin homered in the eighth and scored two runs for Los Angeles.
Michael Brantley homered and McCullers (9-4) yielded two runs while pitching into the sixth inning, but the AL West-leading Astros’ four-game winning streak ended with just their fourth loss in 12 meetings with the Halos this season.
Raisel Iglesias escaped a jam in the eighth and then struck out Jose Altuve with two Astros in scoring position in the ninth for his 26th save, including his major league-leading eighth requiring at least four outs.
Shohei Ohtani hit two singles for the Angels, who won for just the third time in nine games. Los Angeles (59-60) avoided dropping three games below .500 for the first time since June 29.
Detmers walked two and largely avoided trouble during the longest and best start of the 2020 first-round pick’s brief career. His first three big league starts all had a high degree of difficulty in Sunday games against probable playoff teams: the Athletics, the Dodgers and the Astros.
McCullers pitched 19 2/3 innings of six-run ball over three starts against the Angels this season, but the veteran right-hander still has never won at Angel Stadium in eight career starts.
Several minutes after Ohtani struck out with the bases loaded to end the second, Brantley put the Astros up 1-0 in the third. Brantley leads the majors in batting average, and his 424-foot shot to right was his eighth homer of the season.
The Angels tied it in the fifth when Jack Mayfield and Ohtani delivered back-to-back singles before Fletchers RBI groundout.
Los Angeles then went ahead in the sixth when Gosselin doubled and eventually scored on Adell’s grounder to second, chasing McCullers.
THE BIG LEADOFF
Ohtani secured a hit in each of his six games this week as the Angels’ leadoff man after beating out an infield single in the first. The Halos have moved their MVP candidate around to find any sort of protection behind him in their slumping lineup, and Fletcher currently provides the best help.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: RF Kyle Tucker is likely to be out for at least another week, manager Dusty Baker said. He went on the injured list for health and safety reasons Saturday, but the team hasn’t disclosed more details.
Angels: Mike Trout will travel with the team on its upcoming road trip, manager Joe Maddon said. The three-time AL MVP hasn’t played in three months due to a calf injury, but he hopes to play again this season.
UP NEXT
Astros: Jake Odorizzi (5-6, 4.59 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound Monday when Houston opens a four-game series at Kansas City.
Angels: Jos Suarez (5-5, 3.90 ERA) takes the mound at Yankee Stadium on Monday for a makeup game against New York in the opener of a 10-game trip.
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