ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Houston Astros reliever Chris Devenski had faced Mike Trout before. Four times in fact.

The hard-throwing right-hander had not exactly fared well, walking the Los Angeles Angels center fielder twice and allowing a home run, to go with one strikeout.

He faced Trout in the seventh inning with the game on the line Friday night at Angel Stadium and induced a pop fly to second base, ending the Angels' best chance at winning the game and helping lift the Astros to a 2-1 victory.

Astros starter Collin McHugh (2-2) laid the groundwork, giving up one run and three hits in six innings to get the win. J.D. Davis homered and Alex Bregman had three hits as Houston maintained a 12 1/2-game lead in the American League West.

The Angels lost for the fourth time in five games on their current homestand and fell 1 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the second AL wild-card spot. Angels starter Parker Bridwell (7-2) pitched well in defeat, giving up two runs and six hits in seven innings.

Trout, who scored the Angels' only run of the game in the first inning, came to bat in the seventh with the bases loaded and two outs. He quickly fell behind in the count 0-2 but worked the count full.

With the crowd on its feet, Devenski threw an 85 mph breaking ball that might have been off the plate, but Trout swung and hit a popup to second baseman Marwin Gonzalez.

"You go into it with no fear and try to find a way to get out of it," said Devenski, who grew up in nearby Cerritos and played at Cal State Fullerton. "It was a good at-bat, a good battle. He fouled off some good pitches and I was able to execute my pitch on 3-2.

"It was super. I came off the field super fired up."

Devenski has been one of the Astros' unsung heroes out of the bullpen this season, going 6-3 with a 2.70 ERA and a .173 opponents batting average in 51 games. And he was exactly who Astros manager A.J. Hinch wanted on the mound in a crucial situation.

"He got into a little bit of trouble with the bases loaded," Hinch said. "But to be able to beat Trout, when everybody in the ballpark knew he had to throw a strike -- Trout's got good discipline -- what a big moment.

"He was an All-Star, and I used him in just about every high-pressure situation that we could use him. He went through a little bit of a rut for whatever reason, and is coming out of it. He looks very good. When he has fastball command, he gets a ton of swings, like he did tonight. Changeup, he's got a breaking ball he gets for first-pitch strikes, he's got a great mentality. So he's a difference maker."

Gonzalez, subbing for injured Jose Altuve, also made the final out of the eighth inning. With one on and one out, Astros reliever Joe Musgrove threw a pitch that Andrelton Simmons scorched. But Gonzalez made a leaping catch, then doubled up the runner at first to end the inning.

Ken Giles pitched the ninth for his 25th save.

For the Angels, it was a tough loss at a time that is critical for them to win close games. Coming home to start the week, they had won seven of nine on their road trip, only to be tripped up by the Rangers, losing three of four, and now losing the first game of the series to Houston.

"A week ago we were playing great baseball," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We were playing at a level where we could absorb a bad break, we could absorb whether we didn't get a call on the field or a guy just made a great play, you play well enough to absorb it. And right now we're trying to get things going, we're playing close games and if you don't get that break it's going to affect the game. What we need to focus on is what we need to do and play at a high enough level that we can absorb a bat break."

Bridwell got a bad break, pitching well enough to win only to see his personal five-game winning streak come to an end.

"It was a great start," Scioscia said. "I think Parker did everything he was trying to do. The one fastball to Davis he tried to go away but it ran back into his swing and he hit it well. Outside of that he did a terrific job."

NOTES: Astros 2B Jose Altuve was not in the starting lineup because a sore neck. He hurt his neck on a swing in the sixth inning Thursday and had to leave the game. Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Altuve's availability for the games Saturday and Sunday will be decided on a day-by-day basis. INF Marwin Gonzalez started at second base in Altuve's absence. ... Astros bench coach Alex Cora was ejected in the first inning by plate umpire Laz Diaz. ... The Astros activated Evan Gattis from the seven-day concussion disabled list. C Matt Stassi (inflamed left hand) was placed on the 10-day disabled list to make room on the roster for Gattis. ... The Angels called up RHP Mike Morin from Triple-A Salt Lake and optioned INF/OF Jefry Marte to Salt Lake.