ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Angels were unable to keep up with the surging Astros offense, despite multi-RBI days from Nolan Schanuel and Logan O’Hoppe, as they lost the series rubber-match 8-7 Sunday, June 22 at Angel Stadium. 

Home runs have been the name of the game for the Angels offense in 2025. They entered Sunday’s game ranked third in MLB with 110 home runs as a team and added two more in the first five innings: a two-run shot by O’Hoppe in the fourth and a three-run home run by Schanuel in the bottom of the fifth to put the Angels ahead 5-4. 

O’Hoppe’s home run to kick off the game, his 17th of the year, made history as the most home runs ever by an Angels catcher before the All-Star break.

The Astros brought equal power from the plate in Sunday’s game. Houston had been hitting Angels starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks hard all game, though nothing came of it until a four-run fifth inning highlighted by solo home runs by Mauricio Dubón and Jeremy Peña.

“I was just kind of off, mechanically… Not really in my lane, not aggressive, driving the ball down… even if I was on the edges, everything was just a little too up today,” Hendricks said. “Unbelievable job by the boys to stay in that. But, we get a lead; I go give it up. Just momentum killers there.”

Cam Smith struck a hard ground ball off the glove of Luis Rengifo at third base to score a runner from second. Christian Walker followed it up in the next at-bat with a line drive double to the right-center warning track to score Smith in turn and put Houston ahead 4-2. 

Even after Schanuel’s three-run blast gave Los Angeles back the lead, Houston was undeterred. Hunter Strickland relieved Hendricks after five innings and Dubón hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot, followed by a double from Peña to pad the Astros lead 7-5 in the bottom of the sixth. 

Despite the Astros’ persistent offense, the Angels fought to stay in the game and had a chance to blow it open in the bottom of the seventh. Schanuel singled in a run for his third RBI of the game to bring up Mike Trout with two outs and runners at the corners. 

The Astros brought in a new pitcher, Bryan Abreu, to face Trout. He put the Angels superstar down in three pitches, with Trout being wrung-up on a check-swing-strike to end the inning and strand two runners. 

“I had a chance… got a little jumpy,” Trout said. “Sometimes, when you go up there and you try to do too much, you get out of your swing and you jump at the ball.”

Trout had another chance in the bottom of the ninth, this time to walk it off for the Angels. Zach Neto struck his first career pinch-hit home run to lead off the inning and put Los Angeles within striking distance, followed by Schanuel doubling off the base of the right field wall to bring Trout back up in another two-out scenario. 

This time, Trout got a hold of the ball, sending Angel Stadium into an uproar as the ball sailed through the air, straight into the glove of Astros’ Jake Meyers in center field to end the game, despite the excitement, in an 8-7 Angels’ loss.  

“We can get hot and cold, but, I haven’t seen anybody ever give up any sort of quit in this team, at any point,” Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said. 

The Angels continue their home stand with the first of a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox Monday, June 23 at 6:38 pm PDT.