{"id":356079,"date":"2026-06-11T10:27:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/356079\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T10:27:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:27:37","slug":"houston-astros-two-plays-at-plate-pivotal-in-win-over-l-a-angels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/356079\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston Astros: Two plays at plate pivotal in win over L.A. Angels"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Astros<\/p>\n

Astros catcher Collin Price awaits the throw before tagging out Angels runner Mike Trout at the plate during the 10th inning of Houston’s win Monday.<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Christian Walker gestures after hitting an RBI double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Los<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Angels’ Trey Mancini gestures after hitting an RBI single during the second inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Cam Smith gestures after hitting a double during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros pitcher Spencer Arrighetti delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros pitcher Spencer Arrighetti delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Los<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Angels first baseman Trey Mancini, left, gestures before a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"ANAHEIM,<\/p>\n

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 08: Collin Price #37 and Bryan Abreu #52 of the Houston Astros celebrate after the 5-4 win against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 08, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images\"ANAHEIM,<\/p>\n

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 08: Christian Walker #8 of the Houston Astros hits an RBI single to tie the game 4-4 during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 08, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images\"ANAHEIM,<\/p>\n

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 08: Jeremy Pe\u00f1a #3 of the Houston Astros celebrates a run scored in with teammates in the dugout during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 08, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images\"ANAHEIM,<\/p>\n

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 08: Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros slides into home plate against Logan O’Hoppe #14 of the Los Angeles Angels to score a run and take the lead 5-4 during the tenth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 08, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images\"ANAHEIM,<\/p>\n

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 08: Christian Walker #8 of the Houston Astros runs after hitting an RBI single to tie the game 4-4 during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 08, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images\"ANAHEIM,<\/p>\n

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 08: Jose Altuve #27 of the Houston Astros celebrates with teammates in the dugout after a score run in to take the lead 5-4 against the Los Angeles Angels during the tenth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 08, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros right fielder Cam Smith gestures after defeating the Los Angeles Angels in a baseball game Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Los<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout, right, slides into home base, but is called out during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros right fielder Cam Smith (11) and center fielder Brice Matthews (0) run to greet teammates after defeating the Los Angeles Angels in a baseball game Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros catcher Collin Price reacts after tagging Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout out during the 10th inning of a baseball game Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros catcher Collin Price reacts after tagging Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout out during the 10th inning of a baseball game Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Jeremy Pe\u00f1a, left, gestures after scoring during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press\"Houston<\/p>\n

Houston Astros’ Jeremy Pe\u00f1a, right, slides safely past Los Angeles Angels second baseman Nick Madrigal during the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, June 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/William Liang)<\/p>\n

William Liang\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

ANAHEIM, Calif.\u00a0\u2014 Two of a generation\u2019s defining players motored toward home plate at Angel Stadium a few minutes apart Monday night. Two plays there decided a game.<\/p>\n

Jose Altuve began the top of the 10th inning on second base. Three days earlier, the Houston Astros<\/a> had activated the 36-year-old<\/a> from the injured list. He had spent 19 days there recovering from a left oblique strain, an injury he said initially was expected to sideline him twice that long.<\/p>\n

Brice Matthews stood in against Angels left-hander Sam Aldegheri. Matthews had started the evening on the bench. LaMonte Wade Jr. pulling up lame in the sixth inning pressed the 24-year-old into the game. It would soon prove serendipitous.<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Here, Matthews squared. His bunt bounced up the third-base line, veering foul. With no chance to make a play, Denzer Guzman fielded the ball anyway. Matthews had a single. Altuve scampered to third.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was kind of surprised,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cThe catcher was yelling, \u2018Let it go.\u2019 And he picked it up and I got a hit, so I\u2019ll take it. And it got the runner over, that\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Altuve soon made it matter. Three chances loomed for Houston to score him. Cam Smith struck out. Jake Meyers skied a pop-up into shallow center field. Angels second baseman Nick Madrigal drifted back and caught it 182 feet from home plate, per Statcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I had the adrenaline going in that moment,\u201d Altuve said. \u201cSo I was ready for every fly ball to the outfield. Obviously, it was a little shorter. But I kind of was, like, committed to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Altuve bolted from third base. Madrigal, on his heels, saw, set his feet and made a throw home. It beat Altuve, but on a short hop, and skipped past catcher Logan\u00a0O\u2019Hoppe.<\/p>\n

From the dugout, Astros manager Joe Espada said he realized on \u201cthat last step before (Madrigal) caught that ball, he\u2019s on his heels\u00a0\u2014 Altuve\u2019s going to try. And it\u2019s a really good aggressive play. You have to force the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

When did Altuve actually decide to go?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know\u00a0\u2014 it\u2019s really hard to tell when,\u201d he said. \u201cIn that moment, you\u2019re just full of adrenaline, you want to win the game. So I didn\u2019t really think. I just ran without thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

BATTERS
\nAVG
\nOBA
\nAB
\nR
\nH
\n2B
\n3B
\nHR
\nRBI
\nBB
\nSO
\nSB
\nCS
\nE<\/p>\n

Team Totals
\n.245
\n.320
\n2288
\n312
\n561
\n113
\n5
\n86
\n299
\n229
\n561
\n24
\n12
\n25<\/p>\n

Wade
\n.333
\n.385
\n12
\n2
\n4
\n2
\n0
\n1
\n4
\n1
\n3
\n0
\n0
\n0<\/p>\n

Alvarez
\n.311
\n.427
\n241
\n46
\n75
\n13
\n0
\n22
\n48
\n45
\n52
\n1
\n0
\n1<\/p>\n

Pe\u00f1a
\n.288
\n.356
\n118
\n23
\n34
\n7
\n0
\n3
\n12
\n10
\n19
\n5
\n1
\n4<\/p>\n

Trammell
\n.288
\n.347
\n66
\n8
\n19
\n4
\n1
\n0
\n6
\n5
\n24
\n1
\n0
\n1<\/p>\n

Correa
\n.279
\n.369
\n122
\n22
\n34
\n8
\n0
\n3
\n16
\n18
\n26
\n1
\n0
\n1<\/p>\n

Loperfido
\n.276
\n.348
\n58
\n7
\n16
\n5
\n0
\n0
\n7
\n6
\n19
\n1
\n1
\n1<\/p>\n

Walker
\n.252
\n.324
\n250
\n39
\n63
\n12
\n1
\n16
\n48
\n23
\n59
\n0
\n0
\n0<\/p>\n

Allen
\n.250
\n.290
\n64
\n12
\n16
\n2
\n0
\n1
\n5
\n3
\n14
\n1
\n0
\n0<\/p>\n

V\u00e1zquez
\n.244
\n.303
\n131
\n14
\n32
\n6
\n0
\n4
\n19
\n11
\n24
\n0
\n0
\n0<\/p>\n

Shewmake
\n.243
\n.260
\n74
\n8
\n18
\n3
\n0
\n3
\n8
\n2
\n13
\n0
\n0
\n1<\/p>\n

Paredes
\n.241
\n.331
\n224
\n27
\n54
\n12
\n0
\n9
\n33
\n24
\n42
\n0
\n0
\n4<\/p>\n

Altuve
\n.240
\n.320
\n175
\n30
\n42
\n10
\n0
\n5
\n13
\n20
\n41
\n1
\n2
\n2<\/p>\n

Diaz
\n.238
\n.255
\n101
\n7
\n24
\n5
\n0
\n2
\n14
\n3
\n16
\n0
\n1
\n0<\/p>\n

Harris
\n.226
\n.286
\n31
\n4
\n7
\n0
\n1
\n0
\n4
\n2
\n6
\n2
\n0
\n0<\/p>\n

Smith
\n.223
\n.311
\n220
\n26
\n49
\n10
\n1
\n6
\n25
\n25
\n69
\n8
\n1
\n4<\/p>\n

Meyers
\n.215
\n.282
\n93
\n10
\n20
\n4
\n0
\n2
\n8
\n8
\n21
\n1
\n2
\n0<\/p>\n

Matthews
\n.203
\n.255
\n153
\n16
\n31
\n4
\n1
\n4
\n14
\n11
\n54
\n2
\n4
\n1<\/p>\n

Dezenzo
\n.191
\n.255
\n47
\n5
\n9
\n4
\n0
\n1
\n2
\n4
\n19
\n0
\n0
\n0<\/p>\n

Cole
\n.157
\n.189
\n51
\n4
\n8
\n1
\n0
\n3
\n8
\n1
\n21
\n0
\n0
\n1<\/p>\n

Johnson
\n.143
\n.294
\n14
\n1
\n2
\n0
\n0
\n0
\n0
\n2
\n3
\n0
\n0
\n0<\/p>\n

Price
\n.125
\n.222
\n8
\n0
\n1
\n1
\n0
\n0
\n0
\n1
\n4
\n0
\n0
\n0<\/p>\n

Whitcomb
\n.118
\n.167
\n17
\n1
\n2
\n0
\n0
\n1
\n4
\n1
\n9
\n0
\n0
\n0<\/p>\n

Salazar
\n.056
\n.227
\n18
\n0
\n1
\n0
\n0
\n0
\n1
\n3
\n3
\n0
\n0
\n0<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

PITCHERS
\nW
\nL
\nERA
\nG
\nGS
\nSV
\nIP
\nH
\nR
\nER
\nHR
\nBB
\nSO<\/p>\n

Team Totals
\n31
\n37
\n4.89
\n68
\n68
\n17
\n600.1
\n540
\n340
\n326
\n87
\n321
\n574<\/p>\n

Hader
\n1
\n0
\n0.00
\n3
\n0
\n1
\n3
\n0
\n0
\n0
\n0
\n1
\n7<\/p>\n

VanWey
\n0
\n0
\n0.00
\n3
\n0
\n0
\n3
\n1
\n0
\n0
\n0
\n0
\n5<\/p>\n

Brown
\n1
\n0
\n0.84
\n2
\n2
\n0
\n10.2
\n5
\n1
\n1
\n0
\n6
\n17<\/p>\n

Santa
\n0
\n1
\n1.12
\n5
\n0
\n0
\n8
\n1
\n2
\n1
\n0
\n4
\n8<\/p>\n

Arrighetti
\n7
\n1
\n2.21
\n10
\n10
\n0
\n57
\n37
\n16
\n14
\n3
\n31
\n53<\/p>\n

King
\n0
\n1
\n2.54
\n25
\n0
\n6
\n28.1
\n26
\n10
\n8
\n1
\n11
\n21<\/p>\n

Okert
\n0
\n0
\n3.00
\n31
\n1
\n0
\n30
\n18
\n10
\n10
\n3
\n10
\n26<\/p>\n

Teng
\n3
\n4
\n3.06
\n19
\n6
\n0
\n47
\n34
\n17
\n16
\n6
\n21
\n44<\/p>\n

De Los Santos
\n0
\n1
\n3.21
\n26
\n0
\n4
\n28
\n22
\n11
\n10
\n2
\n5
\n28<\/p>\n

Lambert
\n5
\n4
\n3.55
\n9
\n9
\n0
\n50.2
\n39
\n20
\n20
\n3
\n25
\n47<\/p>\n

Pearson
\n0
\n0
\n4.05
\n6
\n0
\n1
\n6.2
\n5
\n3
\n3
\n1
\n4
\n7<\/p>\n

Blubaugh
\n3
\n2
\n4.43
\n26
\n0
\n0
\n40.2
\n30
\n20
\n20
\n5
\n22
\n35<\/p>\n

Roa
\n0
\n1
\n5.19
\n7
\n0
\n0
\n8.2
\n10
\n5
\n5
\n1
\n7
\n6<\/p>\n

Imai
\n3
\n3
\n5.24
\n8
\n8
\n0
\n34.1
\n25
\n20
\n20
\n5
\n23
\n36<\/p>\n

Bolton
\n0
\n1
\n5.40
\n8
\n3
\n1
\n20
\n21
\n12
\n12
\n3
\n14
\n22<\/p>\n

Burrows
\n3
\n8
\n5.77
\n13
\n13
\n0
\n73.1
\n87
\n49
\n47
\n17
\n28
\n60<\/p>\n

Abreu
\n2
\n2
\n6.85
\n25
\n0
\n4
\n22.1
\n18
\n18
\n17
\n5
\n24
\n31<\/p>\n

McCullers
\n2
\n3
\n6.86
\n8
\n8
\n0
\n39.1
\n38
\n32
\n30
\n7
\n22
\n43<\/p>\n

Murray
\n0
\n0
\n7.15
\n7
\n0
\n0
\n11.1
\n16
\n9
\n9
\n0
\n7
\n5<\/p>\n

Weiss
\n0
\n3
\n7.62
\n9
\n2
\n0
\n26
\n35
\n24
\n22
\n8
\n20
\n30<\/p>\n

France
\n0
\n0
\n8.10
\n3
\n0
\n0
\n6.2
\n6
\n6
\n6
\n1
\n5
\n4<\/p>\n

Sousa
\n0
\n0
\n8.10
\n5
\n0
\n0
\n3.1
\n3
\n3
\n3
\n0
\n5
\n4<\/p>\n

Salazar
\n0
\n0
\n9.00
\n1
\n0
\n0
\n1
\n1
\n1
\n1
\n1
\n0
\n0<\/p>\n

Alexander
\n1
\n1
\n9.33
\n4
\n2
\n0
\n18.1
\n21
\n19
\n19
\n4
\n8
\n14<\/p>\n

Gordon
\n0
\n0
\n11.57
\n4
\n1
\n0
\n9.1
\n21
\n12
\n12
\n6
\n3
\n11<\/p>\n

Javier
\n0
\n1
\n12.54
\n3
\n3
\n0
\n9.1
\n13
\n13
\n13
\n2
\n9
\n4<\/p>\n

Mu\u00f1oz
\n0
\n0
\n15.75
\n3
\n0
\n0
\n4
\n7
\n7
\n7
\n3
\n6
\n6<\/p>\n

Baseball Savant tracks average sprint speed on competitive plays. Since the start of last season, Jeremy Pe\u00f1a and Cam Smith have Houston\u2019s highest, at 29.5 and 29.4 feet per second, respectively. Elite is 30 feet per second. Altuve ranks 14th\u00a0among its 22 players tracked in that span, at 27.2.<\/p>\n

Baseball Savant also tracks \u201cbolts,\u201d or any run at or above 30 feet per second. Pe\u00f1a and Smith lead the Astros in that category since the start of last season, as well. Altuve is third.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just talking to him, I was like, \u2018Man, you\u2019re either a ballsy player or something\u2019s missing up there,\u2019\u201d Pe\u00f1a said Monday night. \u201cBut I\u2019ll go with he plays the game aggressive. Shoutout to Altuve. He has no fear when he plays out there. And that\u2019s what we need. We need guys that are willing to take chances and put their bodies on the line to win games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Altuve\u2019s aggression gave the Astros a 5-4 lead, their first of the night. Another play at the plate preserved it.<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Mike Trout began the bottom of the 10th\u00a0inning on second base. Houston had already used Josh Hader in the ninth to produce extra innings. Espada will not use Hader for more than three outs initially upon his return from the IL last week. Bryan Abreu entered for the 10th.<\/p>\n

Jose Siri, the former Astros outfielder, stood in against him. Siri tried to bunt twice and failed both times. In a 1-2 count, Abreu threw a slider. Siri lined it into left field.<\/p>\n

Trout made his turn at third base. He may be 34 but still retains excellent speed. His average sprint speed entering Monday ranked in the 88th\u00a0percentile in the majors. He hit the bag just as Matthews scooped up the baseball and shuffled his feet.<\/p>\n

Matthews was playing his 96th major-league inning in left field, a position where he has never appeared in the minors. He has started 10 professional games there. He began Monday with zero outfield assists. Angels third-base coach Keith Johnson pointed Trout home.<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, I didn\u2019t know if (the throw) was going to make it there in time,\u201d Astros catcher Collin Price said. \u201cSo I was trying to decide if I was going to come up and cut it off and maybe get Siri at second base. That way nobody\u2019s in scoring position and we can at least go to the 11th.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then as it got closer I realized we had a chance and it could possibly beat him. So it was just staying over that plate, try to block it once I had the ball and put a good tag on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Price, called up last Friday<\/a>, was making his second major-league start. Matthews\u2019 throw reached him on one hop. Price gloved it and tagged Trout in one motion. Umpire Tom Hanahan signaled an out.<\/p>\n

The Angels challenged. Price, who had collected his first major-league hit earlier in the evening, awaited the result unsure of what umpires were reviewing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew once I saw it that he was out, but I didn\u2019t know if they were going to say I blocked the plate,\u201d Price said. \u201cI was just hoping they wouldn\u2019t call that, because I know that I did have the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

They did not. The out call remained. Abreu struck out Jo Adell and retired Guzman on a fly out to save a win<\/a> that inched the Astros to 31-37.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to make a play\u00a0\u2014 gotta let it eat sometimes, man,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cI had my guy back there at the plate and he made a good play, so we got the out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe competed as a team today, fought back and just a lot of fun. Try to do it again tomorrow. Just got to keep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Astros catcher Collin Price awaits the throw before tagging out Angels runner Mike Trout at the plate during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-356079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}