Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
LAA	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	8	0
HOU	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	0

George Klassen got the ball for the Angels carrying a 4.34 ERA and a win over Texas his last time out, while Cristian Javier took the mound for Houston at 1-3 with a 6.44 ERA after a rough turn against San Diego. Javier's season has been a story of trying to get back to form after shoulder trouble, and this start was another test of whether the stuff is really back.

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Total

Angels(49-76)

LWLWW

3

+1.5-130+153o9.5+115

Astros(63-62)

LLWWL

1

-1.5+127-156u9.5-115

Best BetAstros -160

Postgame

Javier and the offense both no-showed — Houston managed just 3 hits and didn't score until the 8th. The roster-depth case never got a chance to matter because the Astros couldn't put runs on the board; this one grades as a clean miss.

Pregame

Houston's rotation trouble is real, but this is still a first-place team at home against a club that's lost 76 games. The Astros have gone 15-9 since the All-Star break even while Javier has scuffled, which says the roster around him is carrying enough weight to win these games anyway.

Houston's lineup is closer to full strength than it's been most of the year, though the Astros are still without Carlos Correa and were waiting on Brice Matthews to work his way back from a knee issue. The Angels, meanwhile, are running out a roster picked apart by injuries all summer — Anthony Rendon, Yusei Kikuchi and Yoan Moncada are all long gone for the season. Neither club is playing for October, but the market still made Houston a solid favorite to handle a last-place team at home.

George Klassen

(2-1)·3.74 ERA

Aug 12 vs Rangers

W

6.0IP

2ER

5K

1BB

87P

08/18 Lineup

Cristian Javier

(1-4)·6.44 ERA

Aug 9 @ Padres

L

5.0IP

4ER

2K

1BB

86P

08/18 Lineup

It didn't play out that way. The Angels scratched across single runs in the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings and made it stand up, while Houston's offense stayed dead quiet against Klassen and the Angels' bullpen until finally scoring in the 8th.

Houston finished with just 3 hits on the night, a rough final line for a lineup that's supposed to be the deeper of the two. Javier's command issues have been a season-long theme — he was bumped to the bullpen for a stretch before working back into the rotation — and this outing did little to settle the question of whether that fastball has its life back.

Los Angeles Angels

(49-76)

Aug 16Lvs Royals0-3

Aug 16Wvs Royals1-0

Aug 15Lvs Royals6-7

Aug 14Wvs Rangers7-0

Aug 13Wvs Rangers5-2

Houston Astros

(63-62)

Aug 16Lvs Mariners2-3

Aug 15Lvs Mariners5-10

Aug 15Wvs Mariners10-7

Aug 12W@ Giants2-1

Aug 12L@ Giants1-4

The Angels are buried at 49-76 and were coming off a loss, but they'd shown signs of life in low-scoring games recently, including a 1-0 win over Kansas City. That kind of pitching-forward stretch showed up again here. Houston, at 63-62, has now dropped 3 straight and will need Javier or someone else to find outs more consistently if that number is going to hold up the rest of the way.

Los Angeles Angels

(8)

• 15-Day-ILSam Bachman (RP) — Bachman (forearm) played catch out to 60 feet Monday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.08/11
• 15-Day-ILShaun Anderson (RP) — The Angels placed Anderson on the 15-day injured list Monday due to right shoulder inflammation.08/10
• 60-Day-ILYusei Kikuchi (SP) — Kikuchi (shoulder) said Sunday that he expects to join the Angels on their upcoming six-game road trip and believes he'll be ready to return from the 60-day injured list during that time, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.08/16
• 60-Day-ILSebastian Rivero (C) — The Angels transferred Rivero (hand) to the 60-day injured list Saturday.08/15
• 60-Day-ILYoan Moncada (3B) — Moncada (knee) has been rehabbing at his home and hasn't started baseball activities, MLB.com reports.07/22
• 60-Day-ILJack Kochanowicz (SP) — Kochanowicz's Tommy John surgery on his right elbow was deemed "successful," per MLB.com.06/27
• 60-Day-ILRobert Stephenson (RP) — The Angels announced that Stephenson underwent ligament and flexor repair surgery on his right elbow Wednesday and is likely to miss the remainder of the season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILAnthony Rendon (3B) — The Angels placed Rendon (hip) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08

Houston Astros

(4)

• 10-Day-ILBrice Matthews (CF) — General manager Dana Brown said Sunday that the Astros are targeting "mid-August, potentially the third week of August" for Matthews' (knee) return from the 10-day injured list, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.08/05
• 15-Day-ILMike Burrows (SP) — Burrows (elbow) will make a rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.08/11
• 60-Day-ILCarlos Correa (SS) — Correa (ankle) has been cleared to hit off a tee, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.08/11
• 60-Day-ILBrandon Walter (SP) — The Astros announced Friday that Walter (elbow) is in the midst of a throwing progression at the team's complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.06/04

Neither team's injury report changed dramatically overnight, but Houston's path back to full health matters more than the Angels' at this point — Correa and Matthews are reinforcements for a club still hanging around the fringes of the race, while L.A. is mostly just playing out the string.