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No team in baseball has played better since May 24 than the Houston Astros, a stretch the club will look to extend on Saturday against the host Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
After picking up a 3-2 victory in 10 innings in the series opener on Friday, the Astros have won 18 of their last 25 games. Houston also has won 19 of its last 27 against the Angels since the beginning of 2023.
The Astros lowered their team ERA to 3.40 in the win on Friday, which ranks fifth in the majors.
Aiming to keep that trend going and prolong his string of successful outings, left-hander Brandon Walter (0-0, 1.53 ERA) will make the fourth start of his big-league career on Saturday.
Walter, 28, has allowed three runs in 17 2/3 innings across three no-decisions with Houston. Last time out, he went 6 2/3 frames against the Minnesota Twins, allowing just one run while striking out nine without walking a batter. The Astros won 2-1 in 10 innings.
“We have the next man up mentality,” said Walter, who was called up from Triple-A Sugar Land on May 20. “Just hand the ball over to somebody and you just know they’re going to pitch good here. That’s how it is. It’s contagious.”
Walter made nine appearances out of the bullpen for Boston in 2023 before missing all of last season with a rotator cuff injury. He is slated to face the Angels for the first time in his career on Saturday.
Los Angeles enjoyed a series against New York as it took three of four with the Yankees before seeing its offense go quiet in the series opener on Friday. The Angels had 12 strikeouts while finishing 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position in the one-run loss.
Los Angeles’ season batting average dropped to .224 in the setback — only better than that of the White Sox (.223). The Angels’ pitching staff, although better recently, also hasn’t been a bright spot as it owns a 4.63 ERA.
Right-hander Jose Soriano (4-5. 3.54) has done his best to keep the staff afloat ahead of his 16th start of the season on Saturday.
Soriano, 26, is 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA in his last seven starts and is coming off an outing in which he threw seven scoreless innings against the Yankees in a no-decision on Monday. The Angels won 1-0 in 11 innings.
Soriano has allowed one run in 3 2/3 innings in four career appearances out of the bullpen against Houston.
The Angels and Astros will look to keep their tempers in check after Houston starter Hunter Brown drilled shortstop Zach Neto in the elbow with a 95-mph pitch on Friday. The benches and bullpens emptied without any punches being thrown.
Los Angeles will be without manager Ron Washington for the foreseeable future as the 73-year-old steps away from the team due to health concerns.
“It’s sad. We wish the best for him and want him to get healthy as soon as possible and get back with us,” Angels outfielder Taylor Ward said. “We’ve got a good chance to come together even more.”
Bench coach Ray Montgomery was named interim manager on Friday.
–Field Level Media
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