Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros

HOUSTON - At this point in the season, the Astros will take a win any way they can get it. Especially with the way their offense has continued to struggle, and also with the second-place Rangers getting shut out at home against the Nationals. The Astros snapped their three-game losing streak by getting a solo homer from catcher Christian Vázquez in the third inning and RBIs by Jose Altuve and Cam Smith in the fourth to beat the Angels, 3-2, on Wednesday night at Daikin Park, gaining a game in the American League West standings. The first-place Astros (64-63) moved two games ahead of the Rangers, with Houston holding the tiebreaker over their Lone Star State rivals. Seattle remains four games back. Here are three things that stood out Wednesday: **Pecko’s debut** Right-hander Ethan Pecko, the Astros’ No. 9-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, threw 3 2/3 innings in his Major League debut, allowing two runs, three hits and three walks while striking out four batters. He struck out Vaughn Grissom in the second for his first career strikeout en route to a no-decision. “It was pretty incredible,” he said. “Words just can’t really describe it; you’ve just got to feel it. … It was a little sloppy, but I felt like I battled. I felt like I didn’t have any expectations, I just wanted to throw well, throw strikes. The command wasn’t there. It’s been a little bit since I threw, but overall I’m happy with it and I think there’s a lot I can work on.”