After win over Astros, Angels ensure Tigers control their own destiny in playoff race

When the Los Angeles Angels went down 3-0 last night against the Houston Astros, nobody would have blamed a fan if they changed the channel to something else. Angels and Astros fans have seen this song and dance time-and-time again over the years -- a 3-0 lead should be insurmountable between Houston's dominant bullpen and the Angels being the Angels. However, devastatingly for the Astros, Mike Trout is so back to doing Mike Trout things.

It's so clear that the GOAT just needed to get the monkey off his back in the form of home run no. 400. He blasted two home runs last night en route to a 4-3 victory, with the second being a go-ahead solo shot in the eighth inning. In what is one of his least productive seasons in his career, Trout still has 25 home runs! Kyle Hendricks had yet another fine start, and exited the game to massive applause and every member of the Angels greeting him in the dugout since it may have been his final major league start (or just his final start with the Angels, who knows?).

After win over Astros, Angels ensure Tigers control their own destiny in playoff race

The Angels are now 72-88 with two games to go -- two games that the Astros simply have to win. The Detroit Tigers are now up one game on the Astros in the standings, and would have eliminated them if they weren't in a complete spiral right now. The Angels beat the Astros, which the Tigers desperately needed because they lost to the Boston Red Sox last night. The beauty of baseball is that the Tigers blew their lead in the AL Central, but they could still easily make a run in the playoffs if they sneak into the playoffs as a wild card team.

The Angels might actually play spoiler here against the Astros, which they were unable to do earlier this month. The Angels entered a four-game series with the Seattle Mariners in mid-September, and wound up playing their worst brand of baseball all year en route to a sweep. The Mariners are now the AL West champs thanks in large part to that sweep. Let's just say that getting that win against Houston last night was a fun night for Angels fans in what is now a lost season. Getting run over by the Mariners is one thing, but getting run over by both the Mariners and Astros is another. It's good to see the team finally take a stand, and put their mark on the playoff race.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout