Angels come up short in series opener against Astros

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  • The Angels’ Max Stassi is tagged out by Houston Astros catcher Martin Maldonado while trying to score during the second inning on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • Angels starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Houston Astros on Monday night in Houston. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • Houston Astros starting pitcher Luis Garcia throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Angels on Monday night in Houston. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani reacts after a swinging strike during the first inning of their game against the Astros on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • Angels center fielder Brandon Marsh catches a fly ball hit by the Houston Astros’ Alex Bregman as right fielder Taylor Ward slides past during the first inning on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez watches the flight of his two-run home run during the first inning of their game against the Angels on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez tosses his bat as he watches the flight of his two-run home run during the first inning of their game against the Angels on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez, right, circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run off of Angels pitcher Michael Lorenzen, left, during the first inning on Monday night in Houston. Alvarez added a second two-run homer in the seventh inning as the Astros won, 8-3. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrates with teammate Michael Brantley (23) after Alvarez’s two-run home run during the first inning of their game against the Angels on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of their game against the Angels on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • Angels starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Houston Astros on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Angels’ Tyler Wade watches the flight of his two-run double during the second inning of their game against the Houston Astros on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Angels’ Tyler Wade celebrates after hitting a two-run double during the second inning of their game against the Houston Astros on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani hits a single during the third inning of their game against the Houston Astros on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Angels’ Taylor Ward flies out during the third inning of their game against the Astros on Monday night in Houston. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • The Angels’ Taylor Ward flies out during the third inning of their game against the Astros on Monday night in Houston. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • Houston Astros center fielder Jose Siri catches a fly ball hit by the Angels’ Max Stassi during the third inning on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • Houston Astros center fielder Jose Siri catches a fly ball hit by the Angels’ Max Stassi during the third inning on Monday night in Houston. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • Angels starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Houston Astros on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Houston Astros’ Jose Siri drops his bat after being hit by a pitch thrown by Angels starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen during the fourth inning on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Houston Astros’ Jose Siri reacts after being hit by a pitch thrown by Angels pitcher Michael Lorenzen during the fourth inning on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani comes up to bat during the fifth inning of their game against the Houston Astros on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Angels’ Max Stassi, right, celebrates with third base coach Phil Nevin after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of their game against the Houston Astros on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Angels’ Max Stassi is congratulated by teammate Jack Mayfield after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of their game against the Houston Astros on Monday night in Houston. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • The Angels’ Max Stassi is congratulated by teammate Shohei Ohtani, left, and Manager Joe Maddon, right, after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of their game against the Houston Astros on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Houston Astros’ Alex Bregman doubles in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels in the home opener at Minute Maid Park on April 18, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • The Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez hits a two-run home run in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels in the home opener at Minute Maid Park on April 18, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • The Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez hits a two-run home run in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels in the home opener at Minute Maid Park on April 18, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • Angels pitcher Archie Bradley stands on the mound after giving up a two-run home run to Yordan Alvarez #44 of the Houston Astros in the seventh inning in the home opener at Minute Maid Park on April 18, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • The Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez, right, is congratulated by teammate Jose Altuve after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels in the home opener at Minute Maid Park on April 18, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • The Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve, center, is helped off the field by first base coach Omar Lopez #22 and a trainer after injuring himself running out an infield hit in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park on April 18, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

  • The Houston Astros’ Hector Neris (50), Yordan Alvarez (44) and Martin Maldonado celebrate after their 8-3 victory over the Angels on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

  • The Houston Astros’ Hector Neris (50) and Yordan Alvarez (44) celebrate after their 8-3 victory over the Angels on Monday night in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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HOUSTON — The Angels watched the Houston Astros put on a clinic in small ball and big ball on Monday night.

Playing without Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, the Angels lost, 8-3, to the Astros in the opener of a three-game series, with much of the damage coming on a pair of titanic two-run homers by slugger Yordan Alvarez.

In between, the Astros took advantage of some sloppiness by the Angels to score two runs in the fourth and they executed perfectly to manufacture a run in the sixth.

By contrast, when the Angels had their best chance to at least tie the score with some good situational hitting, they came up empty.

Trailing 5-3 in the top of the seventh, the Angels had runners at first and second with no outs after singles by Jack Mayfield and Jo Adell.

Tyler Wade, who had driven in the first two runs with a double in the second, then dropped down a bunt, moving the two runners into scoring position. Angels manager Joe Maddon said he called for a sacrifice, but he still hoped that Wade might get a hit with his speed.

Andrew Velazquez surprisingly then also bunted, dribbling a ball right back to the mound. Mayfield held at third. After the Astros intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani, Taylor Ward hit a fly ball to end the inning with a zero on the scoreboard.

The second bunt, Maddon said, was not intended to be a sacrifice.

“The play was there,” Maddon said. “We work on things. If he puts it down where we’d like him to put it down, it would have been first and third and a run scored and all kind of good stuff happens. It was just a bad bunt.”

The Angels needed perfect execution because their lineup was missing two of their best hitters. Trout is day-to-day with a bruised left hand after he was hit by a pitch on Sunday, and Rendon was out with a stomach bug. Maddon had said before the game that he hoped Rendon might be available to pinch-hit, but he wasn’t.

The short-handed Angels lineup couldn’t even outscore Alvarez, whose second two-run homer of the game doubled the Astros’ lead just after the Angels failed to execute in the top of the seventh.

The Angels came up short against the Astros for the fourth time in five games so far this season, contrasted with five wins in six games against the Miami Marlins and Texas Rangers.

Angels starter Michael Lorenzen, who gave up one run in six innings against the Marlins in his previous start, was charged with four runs in 3-1/3 innings on Monday.

In the first inning, Lorenzen threw a was victimized by a nice piece of hitting from Alvarez, who took a slider inside at the knees and jacked it 415 feet for a two-run homer.

Lorenzen said there were some “uncontrollables” in the first inning, referring to borderline pitches that he did not get from umpire Dan Bellino.

After two perfect innings, Lorenzen crumbled in the fourth. He gave up a pair of singles, and then he walked Kyle Tucker and Jeremy Peña, the latter to force in the tie-breaking run. Lorenzen then hit José Siri with a pitch, driving in another run.

“There are a lot of guys where I was trying to get them to put it in play, and I was making good pitches and they fouled it off their foot or between their legs,” Lorenzen said. “Man, that was the exact pitch I needed. I just needed you to hit a ground ball to short in that situation. I felt OK. I made some good pitches. I needed a little more attack in there.”

The Angels got one of those runs back in the sixth, when Max Stassi poked a drive down the right field line, knocking it off the pole for his second homer of the season.

The Astros got that run back with a textbook bit of situational baseball. Tucker walked. Peña bunted for a hit. Siri hit a fly ball to the opposite field to move Tucker to third, and then Martin Maldonado laid down a bunt to get him in.

“I thought we started out really well,” Maddon said. “We did a lot of things again tonight. We just could not hold them back towards the end, obviously, but I like the way we came out. We’re missing a couple of key players, however. I like the way we played.”

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