Both offenses did their damage in a tight window and then went quiet. Houston answered the Angels' 2-spot in the 4th with a run in the 3rd and 2 more in the 4th, and neither bullpen allowed another crossed plate the rest of the way. A rookie making his debut got the win in a 1-run game against a division opponent trying to play spoiler — that's a stressful way to start a career.
The Angels showed up with the loose, nothing-to-lose energy of a team already at 50-76, having taken the series opener against this same Houston club 3-1. That's been the story of their last stretch — a .500ish run mixed in with the long-term absences piling up on the injury report, from Kikuchi's shoulder to Rendon's hip to Moncada still not doing baseball activities.
Houston, meanwhile, had dropped 3 straight before tonight and needed exactly this kind of response — from an unproven arm, no less — to keep the .500 club afloat in a season where every game against a sub-.500 opponent is one they should be banking.