Walker hits 2 homers as Astros beat Angels 6-1 after getting knocked out of playoff contention

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Christian Walker homered twice and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-1 on Saturday night, a couple of hours after getting eliminated from playoff contention.

Zach Cole and Jesús Sánchez also went deep for the Astros, who will miss the postseason for the first time since 2016.

Walker was batting in the second inning when Cleveland scored in the bottom of the ninth at Progressive Field for a 3-2 victory over Texas that clinched the final American League playoff spot for the Guardians and eliminated the Astros.

That snapped Houston’s streak of eight consecutive playoff appearances, a run that featured seven straight trips to the AL Championship Series from 2017-2023 and World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.

With Saturday night’s game rendered moot, Astros manager Joe Espada pulled his top three batters — Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes and Carlos Correa — after two innings.

Cole followed Yainer Diaz’s second-inning single with a two-run homer off Angels starter Caden Dana (0-4). Walker led off the fourth with a homer for a 3-0 lead. Cole walked and Sanchez lined a two-run homer to right field for a 5-0 lead. Walker’s solo shot — his 27th of the season — made it 6-1 in the ninth.

Houston starter AJ Blubaugh gave up one hit in four scoreless innings, and reliever J.P. France (1-0) allowed one run and two hits in three innings, striking out five and walking one.

Dana, the Angels’ rookie right-hander, permitted five runs and five hits in seven innings.

France gave up an RBI double to Jo Adell and walked Logan O’Hoppe to put two on with one out in the sixth, but the right-hander struck out Christian Moore and Oswald Peraza to preserve a 5-1 lead.

Sunday’s season finale will be only the fourth game since the start of the 2015 season that the Astros will play while out of postseason contention. The other three came at the end of 2016, when Houston was eliminated from the wild-card race on Sept. 29.

Astros RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (2-5, 6.71 ERA) will start Sunday against Angels LHP Sam Aldegheri (0-1, 8.00).

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Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Caden Dana throws against the Houston Astros during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Houston Astros starting pitcher AJ Blubaugh throws against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Houston Astros' Mauricio Dubon (14) and Jose Altuve (27) watch from the dugout during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Houston Astros' Jose Altuve, center, and his teammates watch from the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Houston Astros' Christian Walker (8) celebrates his home run with teammates during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Galileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)