Third time the charm for Astros in extras, take series with Angels

Through two games under the new extra inning rule, the Astros were struggling. Though it was likely an extension of their general hitting problems at the plate, the Astros had only managed to drive across a run once in five innings beyond the ninth.

Thankfully, the Astros would manage to score twice in both the tenth and eleventh innings, en route to a series win over the Angels in Anaheim.

Josh James was given a second chance to start after a rough first outing, hoping to build beyond the porous three innings and three earned runs in his last start. His first two innings were a little rough, but he managed to escape without any runs allowed.

It all fell apart in the third. As was the case in his last start, James' control failed him and he would walk the bases loaded with two outs for future hall-of-famer and certified Astro-killer Albert Pujols. James would leave a fastball over the plate, and Pujols would do the rest, crushing a grand slam.

For the Astros hitters, they managed to get some good at-bats off of pitcher Shohei Ohtani. After a clean 1-2-3 first inning, Ohtani walked the bases loaded with no outs. Though he would manage to get Kyle Tucker and Jack Mayfield to strike out, walks issued to Dustin Garneau and George Springer would force home two. An Altuve groundout would end the inning, but it was Jose Rodriguez who would earn the out, replacing Ohtani. The Japanese phenom would finish with less than two innings of work, two runs, five walks, and three strikeouts.

The Astros, as they had for much of the season, would again struggle to push across runs for the rest of the game. After scoring two in the second, they would go scoreless for another four innings, which featured a runner in scoring position in three of those innings.

It was an Alex Bregman home run in the seventh inning that would cut the deficit to one.

The deficit was kept manageable by a superb spot-relief effort from Framber Valdez. Valdez, who came on for James after the third, was sensational in relief, not allowing a single run throughout the rest of regulation against the Angels. His stuff was electric, his control was evident, and his pitch count was low.

Valdez's efforts were a big reason behind why the Astros were able to tie the game in the ninth, off a Josh Reddick single that scored pinch-runner Myles Straw from second. No other runners would score on either side in the ninth, sending the Astros into their third extra inning game of the season.

The Astros would manage to strike first in the top half of the tenth, a polar opposite development from the night prior, with a sacrifice fly from backup catcher Garrett Stubbs that scored runner Kyle Tucker.

For as good as Valdez was, unfortunately, his fatigue would get the better of him in the top half of the tenth, as a quick single from last night's hero Michael Hermosillo would knot the game back up at five. Valdez would get Brian Goodwin to strike out, but he would be replaced by reliever Andre Scrubb, ending his night.

Scrubb would intentionally walk Albert Pujols and unintentionally walk Taylor Ward to load the bases with one out. In a precarious situation, Scrubb forced former Astro Max Stassi to pop out on the first pitch, before being taken out for Blake Taylor. After working to a full count, Taylor would earn a clutch strikeout to keep the game tied heading into the eleventh.

Bregman would again contribute with a one-out single that scored designated runner George Springer, putting the Astros up 6-5.

Things would again get hairy in the bottom half of extras. A David Fletcher groundout would put runner Matt Thaiss on third with one out. Taylor would strikeout Luis Rengifo, but walks to Anthony Rendon and Michael Hermosillo would load the bases for Brian Goodwin. Taylor would again be forced to pitch through a rough spot to earn his team the win.

As he had done for much of the season, Taylor came through, forcing a flyout that ended the game and gave the Astros the series win. Taylor would earn the win on the day, while reliever Jacob Barnes would get the loss.

The Astros have an off day tomorrow before beginning a three-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday.