Angels Fall in Final Game of 2025 Season Against Astros
The Los Angeles Angels finished their 2025 campaign with a 6-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday afternoon. With their playoff hopes dashed the night before, Houston rested Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, and Isaac Paredes, opting for a lineup filled with bench pieces. The Angels put out a near mid-season caliber lineup with Mike Trout taking the helm at the designated hitter spot. Trout has been the hottest hitter in the Angels' lineup, hitting three homers in the series against the Astros.
Just like the previous series against the Kansas City Royals with Mitch Farris, another rookie took the mound for the Halos, Sam Aldegheri. Aldegheri is another young starter auditioning for a starting role in the Angels' 2026 rotation. Aldegheri’s shaky first inning included two hit batters and a pair of singles, putting Houston ahead 1-0 in the first inning. Unfortunately, Aldegheri continued to struggle, totaling just over four and two-thirds innings pitched, giving up four runs on seven hits, while walking three batters.
With Aldegehri being taken out of the game early in the fifth inning, the Angels went to reliever Connor Brogdon, who promptly surrendered a run on a cutter that Brice Matthews drove over the left field wall, extending Houston’s lead to 5-1. Again in the sixth, Brogdon allowed another homer before being taken out of the game. In total, the Halos had three relievers follow Brogdon to end the game. The Angels' offense, as of late, has been relying on Trout to put the team in a competitive spot to win. Today was no different. Trout put up the first run next to the Angels logo on the scoreboard with a no-doubt solo homer to left-center field, right next to the 2002 world champions banner. Besides Trout, a single to center by Denzer Guzmán was the only other hit of the game in the second inning.
Then came the ninth inning. Here, the Angels had an offensive resurgence, beginning with back-to-back singles to begin an Angels rally. A single by Carter Kieboom brought in another run for the Halos, leaving runners on first and second. Sebastián Rivero kept the bases loaded with a single and a chance to come back to tie the game with a grand slam. Back-to-back strikeouts to Guzmán and Taylor Ward, however, ended the Angels' rally.
The loss marked back-to-back 90-loss seasons for the first time since the 1992-93 season. Offensively, the Angels led the league in strikeouts, finished with the lowest batting average, and ranked near the bottom in hits and on-base percentage. The pitching staff wasn’t much better, leading the majors in walks allowed and ranking among the worst in home runs and runs surrendered. Still, the Halos showed slight progress, finishing 72-90 — a nine-win improvement from their 63-99 record in 2024.
