Logan O’Hoppe hits walk-off home run in stunning Angels comeback over Astros
Logan O’Hoppe hit a two-run homer with one out in the ninth to complete a four-hit game, and the Angels rallied for a 9-7 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday despite Jose Altuve tying a career high with four hits.
After Kevin Pillar got aboard with a one-out single to left, O’Hoppe hit a slider from Josh Hader (3-4) deep to the short wall in left field. Trey Cabbage appeared to make a leaping catch at the short wall, but dropped it when his left arm hit the railing of the wall, causing the ball to fall into the stands and give the Angels their first walk-off win of the season.
“I didn’t know if he caught it and what had happened with the play,” O’Hoppe said. “I’m still not really sure what happened and trying to process it all. It was a cool moment.”
Cabbage said he felt the ball jar loose when his arm hit the top of the wall. He realized he didn’t have it when he went to his glove and tried to throw it back in, only to realize the ball was in the stands.
“I caught it and when I hit the wall, it just jarred itself loose somehow. I had it in the glove and when I hit the brick behind the pad, it just flipped out. But I had it,” said Cabbage, who came into the game in the bottom of the sixth when third baseman Alex Bregman left after being hit by a pitch in the left hand in the top of the inning. Mauricio Dubón moved from left to third.
It was the first walk-off hit for O’Hoppe, and the first Angels’ walk-off homer in nearly two years. It was also his second four-hit game of the season.
Mickey Moniak and Michael Stefanic also drove in two runs apiece as the Angels rallied from a three-run deficit in the sixth inning.
Carlos Estévez (1-3) retired the Astros in the ninth to get the win.
“We showed some resilience,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “Got some big hits when we needed it and the pitchers kept us there. Yeah, we gave up seven runs, but when it comes down to it we outlasted them.”
Altuve also homered and drove in three runs. It was his first four-hit game this season and 39th of his career. His two-run homer during the sixth inning gave Houston a 7-4 lead before the Angels rallied.
The Angels took a 4-3 lead in the fifth on Willie Calhoun’s base hit that drove in Luis Rengifo. The advantage was short lived though as the Astros responded in the sixth.
Jose Abreu and Chas McCormick had RBI doubles before Altuve drove Hunter Strickland’s slider into the rockpile in left-center for a two-run shot to give the Astros a three-run lead.
Yordan Álvarez had three hits, including a two-run homer, as the Angels struggled to generate hits in a 6-1 loss to the Houston Astros.
Moniak’s base hit in the sixth drove in O’Hoppe to get the Angels to within two runs before they tied it in the eighth.
Zach Neto had an RBI double, advanced to third on Ryan Pressley’s wild pitch and scored on Stefanic’s slow grounder to second to tie it 7-7.
Up next for the Angels: Open a three-game series at Arizona on Tuesday. Left-hander José Suarez (1-0, 6.54 ERA) will make his first start of the season.
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