ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels were an out away from doing exactly what they needed to do, taking two of three from the Houston Astros in the first series after the break.
Then, Jaime Barría gave up a two-run homer to Alex Bregman with two outs in the ninth, coughing up the lead in the Angels’ gut-wrenching 9-8 loss on Sunday.
The Angels took a 7-3 lead in the seventh inning, but they could not hold it.
With relievers Chris Devenski and Matt Moore seemingly unavailable, the Angels used closer Carlos Estévez to pitch the eighth against the heart of the Houston order.
Estévez gave up a two-run homer to Chas McCormack, cutting the lead in half.
Manager Phil Nevin then went with Barria, who has never recorded a major league save, to try to get through the ninth against the bottom of the order.
Barria walked pinch-hitter Bligh Madris and then gave up a single to Grae Kessinger. He got the next two outs, with one run scoring on a ground ball.
Barria’s first pitch to Bregman was a hanging slider over the middle of the plate, and Bregman ripped it over the left-field fence to give the Astros the lead.
Kyle Tucker then followed with a homer, giving the Astros an insurance run.
The extra run was the difference after Shohei Ohtani blasted his 34th homer of the season in the bottom of the ninth.
Matt Thaiss hit a liner into right-center that could have driven in at least one run to tie it, but Tucker made a diving catch.
The late-inning meltdown was set into motion when Angels starter Tyler Anderson was only able to get through three innings on 85 pitches. Although he gave up just one run, the Angels had to drain their bullpen.
The loss spoiled some clutch performances from Angels hitters, who drove in six runs with two outs.
Trey Cabbage, who was making his first big league start, drove in two runs with a two-run double in the fourth, putting the Angels up 3-1. In the seventh, Cabbage singled with one out.
Pinch-runner Andrew Velazquez then scored from first on Zach Neto’s two-out double. After Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked and Mickey Moniak was hit by a pitch, Taylor Ward drove in three runs with a double, giving the Angels a four-run lead.
