HOUSTON _ For years, Patrick Sandoval had dreamed of stepping on the mound at Minute Maid Park in a Houston Astros uniform. He was a promising left-handed pitcher in their loaded minor league system. It was not a far-fetched idea.
Then the business of baseball changed his plans.
A little more than a year ago, Sandoval received news that the Angels had dealt Gold Glove catcher Martin Maldonado to Houston before the July trade deadline. Sandoval, who grew up in Orange County and starred at Mission Viejo High, was the sole player the Angels received in return.
Sandoval, pitching for the Astros' advanced-Class A affiliate at the time, was stunned. He had attended games at Angel Stadium before signing with the Astros, who selected him in the 11th round of the 2015 draft and gave him a $900,000 bonus. He idolized Albert Pujols as a child. His admiration grew deeper after the first baseman signed a decadelong contract to play in Anaheim through 2021.
Sandoval's dreams suddenly changed. He wanted to pitch for his hometown team. He finally did in August, when injuries to Griffin Canning and Felix Pena left holes in the Angels' starting rotation.
The chance to eventually make his Houston debut emerged at the same time.
"Very excited to pitch on that mound," Sandoval said earlier this week. "Obviously my plan when I got drafted was to pitch there for the Astros, but I can't. It's even bigger that it's with the Angels too, my hometown team.
"Yeah. It's gonna be wild."
Wild it was. Sandoval wobbled at a critical juncture in Saturday's 8-4 win. But the quality that has helped the rookie become the most surprising _ and reassuring _ development during the Angels' late-season breakdown appeared again.
Despite being thrust unexpectedly into the limelight, Sandoval has not seemed intimidated by pitching in the major leagues. That preternatural composure has allowed him to keep opponents from mounting rollicking rallies.
Not even one of the American League's deepest lineups could change that. After AL rookie of the year award contender Yordan Alvarez led off the second inning with a homer to cut Houston's deficit to 4-1 and the next three Astros reached base, Sandoval finessed his way out of extreme trouble. He exchanged a run for a ground-ball out, perfectly fielded a one-out bunt and struck out George Springer to strand a runner on third. Fan interference on Kyle Tucker's no-out double helped his cause too.
The Astros (101-54) sent seven men to bat in the inning and cut their deficit to 4-3, but Sandoval still escaped the inning, and eventually the night, with only three runs charged to his ledger over three innings. He pitched a quick third inning with an assist from second baseman David Fletcher, who dived to steal a hit from Alvarez and started a spectacular inning-ending double play by flipping the ball with his glove to shortstop Andrelton Simmons.
Fletcher led off the game with a homer as part of a three-run first inning. Pujols hit run-scoring double in the fourth and Simmons made it 6-3 with an RBI single in the sixth. Kole Calhoun hit his 33rd homer in the ninth, a two-run drive against Hector Rondon.
Luke Bard (3-2) struck out three in two scoreless innings to win in relief.
A frustrating second inning notwithstanding, Sandoval pitched well enough to help the Angels (70-85) spoil the Astros' hopes of clinching their third straight AL West division crown with a win.
