Zach Neto wasted no time taking over Thursday night in Houston, and by the end of it the Angels had put together the kind of offensive outburst that can turn a road trip around in a hurry.
Neto finished with a career-high five hits and a career-high seven RBIs, powering an 18-3 Angels blowout of the Astros at Daikin Park. The victory gave the Halos their first road series win in nearly three months and their first road series victory since May 26-28 at Detroit.
The damage came from top to bottom, but especially from the middle of the order. Angels hitters four through nine combined to go 15-for-31 with 10 runs scored and 15 RBIs as the club piled up a season-high run total.
Neto set the tone early with RBI singles in the first and fourth innings. He then broke things open with a three-run homer to left-center in the fifth and added a two-run double in the seventh. His seven-RBI night tied the Angels’ single-game record for most RBIs by a shortstop, matching Freddie Patek’s seven-RBI game on June 20, 1980, at Boston.
The Angels had to dig out of an early hole after Houston scored twice in the first on an error and a wild pitch. They answered in the second, when Vaughn Grissom drove in a run with a single and then scored on Tyler Heineman’s sacrifice bunt. Josh Lowe later came home on Adam Frazier’s RBI fielder’s choice to first, getting to the plate while avoiding Christian Vázquez’s tag off LaMonte Wade Jr.’s throw.
The offense kept stacking runs in the fourth. Along with Neto’s RBI single, Frazier added an RBI double, Moisés Ballesteros delivered a two-run single and Grissom finished the inning with a two-run double.
Nolan Schanuel also chipped in with an RBI fielder’s choice in the fifth before Neto’s homer widened the gap even further. Denzer Guzman capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the ninth off position player Wade.
There was also a concerning moment in the fifth when Wade Meckler was hit in the head by a 90.6 mph sinker from Bryan King. Meckler was checked by trainers and walked off the field.
With the bats doing the heavy lifting, Grayson Rodriguez had room to settle in after a rocky first inning. He worked through the early trouble and earned his first win since July 10, allowing two runs - both unearned - on five hits with six strikeouts over seven innings.
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