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Houston Astros manager Joe Espada expresses an unwavering confidence in his club, particularly when performances don’t match grand expectations or past results.

Houston posted a season-high run total in a 14-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday in the opener of a three-game series between the teams. Six Houston starters recorded multi-hit games, led by Isaac Paredes and Yainer Diaz, both of whom notched three hits and clubbed their first home run of the season.

Of greater significance was the collective performance with two outs. The Astros totaled nine two-out RBIs against the Angels. They scored six runs in the fifth inning after the first two batters were retired. Houston tacked on two two-out RBIs in its four-run sixth.

“It builds confidence,” Espada said of the production with two outs. “As a team, when you know that you have that ability to do damage with two outs and you think that the inning might be over, but no, you can still press on and get some runs. It’s important.

“Our lineup, from one through nine, we can do things like that if we just stay within ourselves and understand that it’s just going to take more than one guy to put the runs on the board like we did.”

Rookie right-hander Ryan Gusto (1-0, 1.13 ERA) will make his first career start for the Astros on Saturday, filling the rotation spot of Spencer Arrighetti (broken thumb).

Gusto has made four relief appearances after making his first Opening Day roster. He was the pitcher of record in the Astros’ 2-1, 12-inning win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday after working a scoreless inning. He led the Pacific Coast League in strikeouts (141) and ERA (3.70) last season with Triple-A Sugar Land.

Gusto will make his first career appearance against the Angels.

Left-hander Tyler Anderson (0-0, 4.50 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Angels on Saturday. He did not factor into the decision in his home debut against the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday after allowing two runs on one hit and four walks with five strikeouts over five innings in the Angels’ 6-2 win.

Anderson is 1-5 with a 6.43 ERA over 11 career starts against the Astros. He took the loss on Sept. 14, 2024, after allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts over five innings in a 5-3 home defeat.

Meanwhile, the Angels placed flame-throwing reliever Ben Joyce on the 15-day injured list Friday with right shoulder inflammation. Joyce experienced a noticeable drop in velocity in his last appearance, a 16-pitch outing against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, when he allowed three runs on four hits while recording only one out.

Joyce was a revelation last season when he finished 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 33 strikeouts across 34 2/3 innings. His strikeout rate dipped from 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 2024 to 2.1 in five appearances this season.

“We don’t have any idea of the length, but we’re certainly going to back off of him and let him rest,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “And we’ll know more as we continue to see where it goes.

“We really don’t have any panic on this side. We want to make sure that Joyce is well.”

–Field Level Media