Los Angeles Angels vs Houston Astros Box Score on Aug 31, 2018

Andrelton Simmons produced a key blow in the sixth inning for a second consecutive game, and Jaime Barria posted his fourth scoreless start of the season as the visiting Los Angeles Angels stymied the Houston Astros for the second night in a row, this time 3-0 on Friday at Minute Maid Park.

Simmons blasted a two-run homer off Astros reliever Collin McHugh with two outs in the sixth to provide Barria (9-8) a cushion he didn't actually need. McHugh replaced rookie left-hander Framber Valdez, who carried a shutout into the sixth before issuing a walk to Kole Calhoun.

Before he threw a pitch, McHugh uncorked an errant pickoff throw that enabled Calhoun to take second base. Two batters later, Calhoun broke a scoreless tie when he scored on a Mike Trout sacrifice fly.

Two batters after that, Simmons belted his ninth homer 357 feet into the Crawford Boxes in left. Valdez (2-1) was charged with one run on two hits and three walks in five-plus innings.

Simmons finished 2-for-4 and was the only player from either team to post a multi-hit game.

Barria set the Astros down in order in the first and worked around a leadoff walk in the second. He pitched with runners in scoring position in the third and fourth innings, with Martin Maldonado and Carlos Correa reaching third base, yet worked through that traffic.

Barria retired the final nine batters he faced, completing six scoreless innings for the second time this season.

The Astros, who averted a shutout loss on Thursday when Tyler White homered with two outs in the ninth inning, mounted one last scoring threat in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases with one out for the heart of their order. Angels right-hander Ty Buttrey proved up to the challenge, striking out Jose Altuve before getting Correa to pop out in foul territory.

Buttrey had struck out George Springer for the first out with runners on second and third.

The Astros finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position after mustering only two at-bats with runners in scoring position in the series opener. The Angels, who entered the series having lost 8 of 10 games to the Astros, earned at minimum a split of the four-game weekend set.

Houston's American League West lead over Oakland was trimmed to 1 1/2 games when the A's beat the Seattle Mariners 7-5.

--Field Level Media