Houston Astros stifle Los Angeles Angels bats in blowout win

Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The Houston Astros limited the Mike Trout-led Los Angeles Angels to just four hits in an 11-2 win, capping off a three-game sweep.

The Astros posted seven runs during the eighth inning of the lopsided win Sunday at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Framber Valdez allowed two hits and one run in six innings to pick up his fourth win of the season. Jaime Barria took the loss for the Angels after allowing three hits and two runs in 5.1 innings.

Houston is now tied with the New York Yankees for the most wins in the American League at 85. The Astros needs to win just half of their remaining games in order to win 100 games this season.

"We want the best record. We want home field," Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters. "To be honest with you, we won the World Series on the road in Game 7 [in 2017]. It would have been nice to have that at home at Minute Maid, so we want the best record in baseball."

The Astros earned a 1-0 lead when Jose Altuve scored during a Yordan Alvarez ground out in the bottom of the first inning. Andrelton Simmons tied the score with his sixth home run of the season in the top of the second inning. Josh Reddick helped the Astros regain control with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth frame. Martin Maldonado added to Houston's lead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh frame.

Alex Bregman began the scoring fest in the bottom of the eighth frame. The All-Star shortstop plated Myles Straw with an RBI double for the first run of the inning. Abraham Toro later scored Bregman on an RBI single, giving Houston a 6-1 lead. Alvarez scored Houston's seventh run on a wild pitch.

Reddick doubled in Yuli Gurriel and Toro to give the Astros a 9-1 advantage. Altuve hit his 24th homer of the season for an 11-1 lead in the same frame.

Angels right fielder Brian Goodwin hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning for the game's final run.

Trout was 11-for-2 with a walk in the loss. Altuve went 2-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs scored and a strikeout in the win. Gurriel and Reddick also had two hits for the Astros. Reddick also collected three RBIs in the win.

The Astros host the Tampa Bay Rays at 8:10 p.m. EDT Tuesday in Houston. The Angels host the Texas Rangers at 10:07 p.m. EDT Tuesday at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.