Zach Neto turned Thursday night into a personal showcase and made sure the Angels left Houston with a statement win.
Neto racked up five hits and drove in a career-high seven runs as Los Angeles rolled past the Astros, 18-3, in the deciding game of the three-game intradivision series. The Angels piled up 18 hits and reached a season-best run total while blowing the game open with a huge second inning and an even bigger fourth.
The turnaround started after Houston grabbed a 2-1 edge, but Los Angeles answered with three runs in the top of the second. Moises Ballesteros sparked that rally with a leadoff double, his first extra-base hit since joining the Angels at the trade deadline. Vaughn Grissom tied the game with an RBI single, then Tyler Heineman and Adam Frazer added runs with a safety squeeze bunt and a fielder’s choice grounder.
Houston starter Peter Lambert briefly steadied things by working around the Angels in the third, but the game slipped away in the fourth. Frazer delivered an RBI double that brought home Josh Lowe, and Neto followed with an RBI single that scored Frazer. That opened the door for Bryan King, who entered with the bases loaded and watched the inning keep snowballing as Ballesteros and Grissom each lined consecutive two-run hits to stretch the lead to 10-2.
Lambert’s night was a sharp contrast to his recent run. Coming in, he had allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight straight starts.
Against the Angels, though, he was charged with nine runs on eight hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings. He set season highs in runs and hits allowed and retired a season-low 11 batters.
Los Angeles kept the pressure on in the fifth, and Neto delivered the knockout punch. He crushed a three-run homer to center that made it 14-2, with Frazer and Nolan Schanuel scoring ahead of him.
It was Neto’s 21st homer of the season. He later added a two-run double in the seventh to cap his massive night.
Neto finished 5-for-6. Grissom went 3-for-6 with three RBIs, while Ballesteros, Lowe and Frazer each collected two hits.
Grayson Rodriguez got the win for Los Angeles and had the luxury of all that run support. He was charged with two unearned runs in the bottom of the first, then settled in and finished seven innings with five hits, two walks and six strikeouts.
For Houston, the loss marked another rough home series result against a team with a losing record. The Astros have now dropped consecutive series at home to opponents with losing records, and their lead over the Texas Rangers in the American League West is down to one game.
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