HOUSTON _ This is nearly it. The Angels' postseason dreams can sustain no more body blows. They lost again on Friday night, fell another game out of the wild-card race, and are on the verge of elimination, not mathematically but practically.
Houston beat them, 3-0, before 34,127 enthused fans at Minute Maid Park. In a virtual postseason rehearsal, the Astros deployed three of their best pitchers, and Justin Verlander, Chris Devenski and Ken Giles held the Angels to two hits.
Newly installed as the Angels' leadoff hitter, Kole Calhoun poked Verlander's first pitch into left field, beating the Astros' pull-heavy shift. Mike Trout battled Verlander to nine pitches, then struck out on a biting slider at the edge of the strike zone.
All night, the chances were minimal. The Angels' next baserunner was Albert Pujols, who forced a two-out walk in the fourth after falling behind 0-and-2. After that, their next baserunner was Justin Upton, who drew a walk to begin the seventh, then was erased on Pujols' league-leading 26th double play of 2017.
In all, the Angels made 24 outs between hits before pinch-hitter Ben Revere stroked a leadoff single to begin the ninth. That sparked a mini-rally, as Calhoun walked to bring up Trout, but Houston turned an odd double play on his flare toward second. Upton popped out in foul ground, and the game was over.
Angels starter Garrett Richards matched Verlander pitch for pitch as long as he was allowed.
After Josh Reddick doubled off the short left-field wall in the first inning, Richards retired the next 10 Astros he faced. Only with two outs in the fourth did he issue a walk to Marwin Gonzalez, each pitch encircling the strike zone, missing by a few inches.
Richards then struck out Alex Bregman, and struck out two more Astros in the fifth inning, finishing it at 72 pitches. He headed out for the sixth as Yusmeiro Petit began to warm behind him in the Angels' bullpen. Richards cruised through the inning and completed his night, Petit taking over for the seventh.
Richards' four starts since his return from a five-month battle with biceps nerve irritation are a study in pitch count pattern-making: 52, 63, 74, and, now, 85.
Petit ceded a single to the first Astro he faced, Jose Altuve, then struck out Gonzalez with a pitch that appeared outside the zone. So outside, in fact, that in arguing the call, both Gonzalez and Astros manager A.J. Hinch earned ejections by home-plate umpire Dan Iassogna.
Bregman next walked. Then, with one out, Yuli Gurriel stepped up and crushed the decisive three-run homer to left-center.
The Angels (76-77) are 3{ games behind Minnesota for the American League's last playoff spot. Nine games remain in the regular season. Their chances are slim.
