Houston Astros vs Los Angeles Angels Match Player Stats On Sep 23, 2021

Jack Mayfield's two-out, two-run double in the sixth inning snapped a tie and lifted the Los Angeles Angels to a 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros Thursday night in Anaheim, Calif.

The Angels (73-80) snapped their six-game losing streak while the Astros (91-62) saw their four-game winning streak end. Houston leads the second-place Seattle Mariners (84-69) by seven games with nine to play, leaving the Astros' magic number at three.

Houston won the first three games of the four-game series.

Mayfield, who played for the Astros in 2019 and '20, came to the plate against Astros starter Lance McCullers (12-5) in the bottom of the sixth with two on and two outs. He ripped a slider into the left field corner, scoring Shohei Ohtani and Jared Walsh for a 3-1 lead. Both Ohtani and Walsh had reached on walks.

Angels starter Alex Cobb gave up just one run in 5 2/3 innings but left the game with the score 1-1. Austin Warren (2-0) got the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings, while Mike Mayers (eighth inning) and Raisel Iglesias (ninth inning, 33rd save) finished it off.

Iglesias gave up a two-out solo homer to Jason Castro and then a single to Jose Altuve before striking out Jose Siri to end it.

Both Cobb and McCullers were perfect in the early going, each retiring all nine hitters faced through the first three innings.

The Astros put the first men on base in the fourth after Altuve grounded out to start the inning. Siri and Alex Bregman singled, and Kyle Tucker walked to load the bases.

Cobb worked his way out of the jam, striking out Yuli Gurriel and then getting Carlos Correa to ground into an inning-ending force play.

The Angels got their first baserunner in the bottom of the fourth when Brandon Marsh led off with a single. Ohtani followed with a walk and Phil Gosselin grounded into a force play, giving the Angels runners on first and third with one out.

Walsh gave the Angels a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly, but McCullers worked his way out of further damage.

Cobb and the Angels held the one-run lead until the sixth. Cobb retired the first two batters of the inning, but walked Tucker, who stole second and went to third on a wild pitch.

After a walk to Gurriel, Correa singled to center to drive home Tucker, leveling the score and knocking Cobb out of the game.

McCullers got through six innings, but not before giving up the decisive two-run double to Mayfield. In all, McCullers gave up three runs on two hits and four walks with five strikeouts.

Cobb yielded four hits and three walks while fanning four.

--Field Level Media