After losing a 3-game set against the A’s, Houston ends its regular season schedule with three games against the LA team not going to the playoffs. The Astros are not all-dead for the playoffs, but a lot…a WHOLE lot needs to break right for that to be a reality.
Angels Standings:
- 71-88 (5th in the AL West) 19.0 Games Back; Eliminated from Playoff Contention
- Home Record: 38-40 (Astros Road Record: 39-39)
- Record vs. AL West: 22-27 (Astros vs AL West: 23-26)
- Last 10: 2-8 [LLLLLWLLWL] (HOU: 4-6 [LWWWLLLLLW])
- Record since last match-up: 7-15 (HOU record: 9-12)
- 2025 Record vs. Houston: 4-6 (1-2 [4/11-4/13 @ HOU ]; 1-2 [6/20-6/22 @ LAA]; 2-2 [8/29-9/1 @ HOU] )
- All-Time Record vs. Houston: 87-136
- Playoff Record: N/A
Angels Since the Last Meeting: 11 straight years without a playoff berth. Yet another lost season for a team that somehow had two MVP/Hall-of-Fame caliber players on its roster at one time and did nothing. At what point does
an Angels’ fan decide that enough is enough? While the Astros fan has no objections to the Angels being what they are, it must be beyond incredibly frustrating for a Halos supporter. Sure, they’ve made some moves to appear competitive, but throughout the organization, they just never get there. Aside from Mike Trout finally reaching the 400-homer mark this past week (he had been sitting on 398 since the Angels last met Houston), there hasn’t be a lot to mention about the Angels as of late. They are 4 games back of the A’s for last place in the AL West, and likely will end the season there. At least they’ve somewhat improved on their win-loss record from last season, although that isn’t saying a whole lot.
Angels’ Leaders
Offense: [NOTE: Stat leaders based on eligibility for batting title and who is currently on the roster, unless otherwise noted]
- HR: LF Taylor Ward (36)
- RBI: LF Taylor Ward (103)
- BA: 1B Nolan Schanuel (.267)
- OPS: SS Zach Neto (.795)
Pitching: [NOTE: Stat leaders based on eligibility for ERA title and who is currently on the roster, unless otherwise noted]
- ERA: Yusei Kikuchi (3.99) [For pitchers not eligible for the ERA title, Kenley Jansen has a 2.67 ERA over 62 appearances]
- Wins: Jose Soriano (10)
- Saves: Kenley Jansen (28)
- WHIP: Kyle Hendricks (1.28) [For pitchers not eligible for the ERA title, Kenley Jansen has a .97 WHIP over 62 appearances]
Projected Pitching Matchups (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
- Friday, September 26 @ 8:38 p.m. CDT: Jason Alexander (4-2, 4.83 ERA) vs. Kyle Hendricks (8-10, 4.79 ERA)
- Saturday, September 27 @ 8:38 p.m. CDT: TBD vs. TBD
- Sunday, September 28 @ 2:07 p.m. CDT: TBD vs. TBD
Field Position Starters (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) (BA/OBP/SLG)
- C: Logan O’Hoppe (.217/.261/.380)
- 1B: Nolan Schanuel (.267/.356/.388)
- 2B: Christian Moore (.208/.292/.389)
- 3B: Yoan Moncada (.238/.340/.455)
- SS: Denzer Guzman (.138/.167/.345)
- LF: Taylor Ward (.228 /.315/.477)
- CF: Bryce Teodosio (.209/.252/.318)
- RF: Jo Adell (.235/.294/.484)
- DH: Mike Trout (227/.356/.412)
Angels’ Offense: The offense for the Angels, well, not all that great. They post the worst BA in MLB (.226), and their other key hitting stats aren’t much to talk about (24th in runs, 28th in OBP). They do rank 15th in slugging, so when they do get hits, they make them count, or as much as they can count for a team in the lower tier in runs scored. When your team is 4th in home runs, it shows that the Angels, when they do get hits, they make them count (opposite of the other team in this particular series). With guys like Trout and Ward in the lineup, not a huge shock that this is the case. This even without any significant contributions from off-season acquisitions like Soler. Base-stealing is not a team-wide weapon, as they are tied for 20th in MLB in that department. Granted, many of the recent numbers are the result of key starters out due to injury and replacements entering the lineup (with the expected results).
Angels’ Pitching/Defense: As bad as the overall hitting is, the pitching is just as bad. They rank in the bottom tier of many key pitching stats (28th in ERA, 28th in WHIP, 28th in BAA). Their best overall starter as been Kikuchi (7-11, 3.99 ERA, 1.42 WHIP), but that hasn’t exactly led to a lot of glory on the mound. Unlike the offense, there is not really a particular stat the rotation can hang their caps on (like the offense can with dingers). The rest of the starting rotation is not exactly inspiring fear in opposing lineups, even if the wins leader Soriano did shut down Houston the last time these teams dueled. Kyle Hendricks leads the starters in WHIP, but he is not exactly recapturing the magic from earlier in his career. Kenley Jansen has generally been effective as the closer, but for a team in last place in the division, there aren’t that many chances to wrap up saves. It doesn’t help that they’ve blown nearly 48% of their save chances. The bullpen is ranked 28th (a common ranking here). Also keeping with the number 28, that is their ranking in MLB for defensive runs saved. Combined with their 26th rank in errors, the Angels’ defense does not offer much help for the pitching staff.
Most Dangerous Player: At this point, the biggest danger to the Astros will be the Astros themselves. They have no more room for error after the most ill-timed 5-game losing streak in franchise history. The Angels do not come into this match-up with much motivation or momentum. Sure, Trout and Ward could light up a suspect/pressured line-up, and one of the remaining Angels pitchers could rise up to shut down a suspect Astros lineup. However, the Astros must face down themselves, especially after wasting the opportunities against Seattle and the lifeless performance in the two losses against the A’s.
Injuries: Likely any Angels that are injured at this point will not return until 2026 (thus, no projected return projections unless otherwise noted). Yes, 3B Anthony Rendon is among them. The rest of the IL roster (not including Rendon):
- P Yusei Kikuchi (finger)
- C Travis d’Arnaud (concussion); 7-Day IL
- P Tyler Henderson (oblique); 15-Day IL
- OF Jorge Soler (back); 60-Day IL
- P Hunter Strickland (shoulder); 60-Day IL
- P Andrew Chafin (triceps); 15-Day IL
- SS Zach Neto (hand); 10-Day IL
- P Reid Detmers (elbow); 60-Day IL
- P Robert Stephenson (elbow); 15-Day IL
- P Jose Soriano (forearm); 15-Day IL
- P Victor Mederos (shoulder); 60-Day IL
- P Carson Fulmer (elbow); 60-Day IL
- OF Gustavo Campero (ankle); 60-Day IL
- P Ben Joyce (shoulder); 60-Day IL
Intangibles: Another lost season for Mike Trout. Is he this generation’s Ernie Banks? A great player destined to never achieve post-season glory. His one-time teammate Shohei Ohtani escaped the Angels for the Dodgers, obtaining one World Series ring and working on another. Given his contract and age, Trout is not likely to get that post-season chance anytime in the near future. As for the rest of the team, well, they have some players, but again, the team/organization is just not postured to win. The decline of the Astros could’ve been an opportunity to move up, but now Seattle has that mantle, the Rangers still maintain some talent and the A’s, even in their vagabond state, appear to have brighter prospects for future glory vs. the Angels. As cold as Houston has played, the Angels seem like they’ve long since made their end-of-season plans made, going on a 9-game losing streak and losing 12 of 14 prior to this final series. Like the A’s, the Angels’ players would have no issues ending the Astros’ season at the same time as theirs. As for what the future brings, well, the best move the Angels could make, much like the A’s, is the one move that won’t happen, which would involve firing the owner Arte Moreno.
Series Outlook: Two teams effectively playing out the string. The Angels…they’ve been counting down the innings until yet another season ends without a playoff trek for the last couple of months. For Houston, that the last series of the regular season means effectively nothing is not completely alien. However, the reason for that is different. Usually, Houston knew it was in the playoffs and effectively knew where they were in the playoffs, thus it was all about preparation for the next round. Now barring a low probability confluence of events, most of which are outside of Houston’s control, the Astros will be home for the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Was this fall from grace the worst in franchise history? We’ll have the offseason to figure that out. No shortage of things and actions needed by Houston. That too will dominate the online discourse. As for this series, well, at least it is still baseball, there are three games, and there is a chance for maybe some bonus baseball and…well, maybe the team can finish with some small positives.
