Missed opportunities, bullpen woes plague 'Stros against Angels

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports

Luis Garcia will have to wait a little longer for his first major league win.

What felt like an easy Astros win quickly unraveled in the sixth inning, as a series of implosions saw the Astros drop the first of three games against the visiting Los Angeles Angels by a score of 5-4 on Monday night.

Houston got off to a hot start, with all three of their first batters reaching base to begin the game -- José Altuve and Michael Brantley both walked, before a ground-rule double from Alex Bregman gave Houston an early 1-0 lead with runners on second and third with no outs.

That would only be the first of many opportunities squandered by the Astros on the day. Yordan Alvarez struck out, Yuli Gurriel popped out, and Carlos Correa struck out to keep the score at 1-0.

The Astros found paydirt again in the second, on an RBI single from Myles Straw that plated Kyle Tucker, who doubled before him. A Jason Castro walk would again put two runners on with no outs in the inning, with the top of the lineup set to bat.

Again, Houston faltered. José Altuve grounded into a double play, and while Michael Brantley was able to single home another run, it felt like another missed opportunity to blow the game open for Houston.

The Astros managed to take a 4-1 lead heading into the sixth inning, behind a strong outing from young right-hander Luis Garcia. Prior to the beginning of the sixth, Garcia had accrued seven strikeouts, and had been working quickly through a talented Angels hitting core.

The inning started harmlessly enough -- Garcia got Mike Trout to pop out to begin the top half of the sixth. However, Jared Walsh and Justin Upton would blast back-to-back home runs to cut the Astros' lead to one.

Brandon Bielak was asked to clean up the inning for Garcia and preserve the Astros' lead. The exact opposite happened. Bielak allowed the first four batters he faced to reach, giving up two runs in the process and squandering Houston's lead. He would not be able to finish the inning.

The Astros would fail to tie or take the lead for the rest of the game, but not due to a lack of opportunities. José Altuve doubled to start the home team's half of the sixth, but he would not be advanced. Yuli Gurriel doubled in the ninth with two outs, giving Carlos Correa a chance to extend the game, but he would come up short.

For all the missed opportunities, and the final result, it was another encouraging step for a young pitcher still looking to find his footing in the majors. Garcia, filling in for the injured Jake Odorizzi, has shown heaps of promise -- he currently has an ERA of 3.60, and is yet to give up more than three runs in any outing. Opponents are hitting .193 against him on the year.

"He’s got command of really all his pitches," Catcher Jason Castro said after the game. "He’s got a curveball, slider and a cutter that are all actually different from each other, which is kind of rare, and his changeup plays really well. He’s got a plus mix across the board. He’s shown it."

"If we could limit some mistakes... he’s going to be a big part of what we’re doing going forward."

The Astros will attempt to tie the series on Tuesday, with Lance McCullers Jr. facing off with two-way Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani. First pitch is scheduled for 7 PM CT.