Griffin Canning strikes out 10, Max Stassi homers twice to beat Padres

It was the Griffin Canning and Max Stassi show for the Angels on Tuesday night, keeping their faint postseason hopes alive with a 4-2 win over the Padres at Petco Park in San Diego.

Canning struck out a season-best 10 in six innings, keeping the Padres at bat despite walking five.

He was backed by Max Stassi, who hit a solo home run in the second inning then added a two-run shot in the sixth, both of San Diego starter Zach Davies. Stassi is hitting .293/.371/.561 with seven home runs this season, after last season going 18-for-132, hitting .136/.211/.167 with one homer.

With the win, the Angels moved into third place in the AL West, still 3½ games back of the Astros with only four left to play (Houston has five games remaining). The Angels’ elimination number is two, meaning Houston only needs two out of nine outcomes to go their way to clinch a playoff berth. Meanwhile, the Angels need eight out of nine things to go right to advance to the postseason.

Tuesday particulars

Home runs: Max Stassi 2 (7)

WP — Griffin Canning (2-3): 6 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts

LP — Zach Davies (7-4): 6 IP, 7 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts

Sv — Mike Mayers (2): 1⅔ IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Up next

Jaime Barria makes his final start of the season on Wednesday afternoon in San Diego (1:10 p.m.; Fox Sports West, MLB Network), with Mike Clevinger expected to start for the Padres.