5 Thoughts from the Astros 2-1 loss to the Angels Saturday Night

1. The Astros faced a tough battle going up against Shohei Ohtani, who pitched eight innings of one-run, six hit ball with five strikeouts. The Angels bullpen also did well with four shutout innings. The result was a 2-1 loss in 12 innings for Houston. The Astros had their chances, however, but were just 2 of 14 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10. They could not get a run across in extra innings, even with the “cheat runner” at second base. The Angels had just four hits, but made the most of them. Luis Garcia was almost as impressive as Ohtani, going 7 innings with 3 hits, 1 earned run, and 7 strikeouts on 94 pitches.
2. JJ Matijevic drove in the only run of the game in the top of the 5th with an RBI single scoring Trey Mancini., who had doubled. That would be all the Astros could manage in terms of runs against the Angels pitching.
3. Astros top prospect Hunter Brown will make his Major League debut on Monday night against the Texas Rangers according to Houston Chronicle beat writer Chandler Rome. Brown had a big year at Sugar Land, with a 9-4 record, 2.55 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 106 innings. The Space Cowboys used him both as a starter and reliever, so the Astros may experiment with both down the stretch.
4. Yordan Alvarez sat out yet another game with his hand injury, but appears close to a return. The slugger will be a big boost to the lineup when he comes back, with his 31 homers and 80 RBI. He has not played since Aug. 27 against the Orioles.
5. Even with the loss, the Astros remain six games ahead of the Yankees for the best record in the American League. New York continues to fall and the AL East maybe be in jeopardy for them. Meanwhile, the Astros still hold a 10-game lead over Seattle in the West and are 7-3 in their last 10.

The Astros will play the Angels again Sunday at 3:07 CT with José Urquidy (12-5, 3.69 ERA) on the mound for the Astros, and for the Angels it will be Tucker Davidson (2-4, 5.77 ERA)