Angels strand 14 on maddening day, lose 8-6 to Astros in 13

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Los Angeles Angels played their longest game of the year by many measures Sunday, from innings and clock time to their complete, compounded frustration at the plate.

The Angels stranded 14 runners and lost 8-6 to the Houston Astros on Carlos Correa's three-run homer in the 13th inning.

Johnny Giavotella, Rafael Ortega and the Angels piled up missed opportunities for nearly five hours on a maddening afternoon. They stranded six men in the final five innings of their fourth loss in five games.

"We definitely put ourselves in a lot of good places and couldn't get the run in," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

After Correa put a hanging changeup from Mike Morin (1-1) into the bullpens beyond left field, the bottom half of the inning stuck to the Angels' theme.

Luke Gregerson walked Kole Calhoun and gave up Albert Pujols' two-out double. Calhoun scored on a wild pitch before Gregerson struck out Giavotella to earn his 12th save.

Giavotella struck out three times in the final five innings with seven total runners on base.

"Johnny is one of our guys," Scioscia said. "He's going to put the ball in play there (most times). He had three opportunities this afternoon and couldn't put the ball in play. That's not like Johnny."

Los Angeles nearly ended it in the ninth against dominant Astros reliever Will Harris when Mike Trout walked and Pujols singled. Both stars got into scoring position before Ortega grounded out.

Calhoun had a one-out triple in the 11th, and Pat Neshek walked Trout and Pujols to load the bases. Both Giavotella and Ortega couldn't drive in a run.

"That's probably the only time I've ever been excited that somebody hit a triple and not a single or a double," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "It got me through the heart of the order."

Los Angeles' bullpen had been solid until Morin struggled. Tyler White and Marwin Gonzalez singled before Correa came off the bench to hit his eighth homer of the season.

"Best day off ever," Correa said.

Hinch wanted Correa to get just his second day off of a sophomore season that hasn't been as prolific as his impressive Rookie of the Year campaign. Instead, Correa got a run-scoring hit in the 13th inning for the second time in six games, following up his game-ending single against Baltimore on Tuesday.

"I've had success against him, specifically with my changeup," Morin said. "It's unfortunate that it wasn't my best pitch, but I didn't get beat on my best pitch."

Pujols had three hits for the Angels, who took a 5-4 lead in the seventh on his tying RBI single and Trout's go-ahead run on Giavotella's safety squeeze bunt.

Evan Gattis doubled and scored on Luis Valbuena's single in the eighth for Houston, and the bullpens traded zeros until Correa connected.

Michael Feliz (3-1) pitched the 12th for Houston.

Jake Marisnick, a native of nearby Riverside, California, hit his first homer of the season during the Astros' three-run fifth inning. Jose Altuve had four hits for Houston.

FOR STARTERS

Houston's Doug Fister yielded five hits and just one earned run over six innings, but his bullpen deprived him of his fourth victory in May. The Astros still won all six of his starts this month.

Angels right-hander Nick Tropeano gave up seven hits and walked five while pitching into the sixth.

ESCOBAR OUT

Angels third baseman Yunel Escobar left in the third inning with a bruised left wrist after getting hurt while attempting to field Gonzalez's hot grounder. Los Angeles has been beset by injuries this season, including the loss of shortstop Andrelton Simmons earlier this month for several weeks.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Astros: OF Carlos Gomez probably will rejoin Houston next week after five rehab games for his bruised rib cage.

Angels: SS Cliff Pennington went 2 for 5 in his first game since May 12 after missing 14 games with a strained left hamstring.

UP NEXT

Astros: Collin McHugh (4-4, 5.13 ERA) takes the mound in Phoenix when Houston opens a two-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

Angels: Jhoulys Chacin (0-1, 4.67 ERA with Los Angeles) makes his fourth Angels start in the home series opener against Detroit on Monday night.