ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jered Weaver would be the first to admit his fastball isn't exactly fast anymore. His pitch selection usually comes down to one of three pitches -- slow, slower and slowest.

But the Los Angeles Angels' starting pitcher was a perfect foil for the free-swinging Houston Astros, who entered the game tied for the major league-lead in home runs.

The Astros got Weaver once -- center fielder Carlos Gomez went deep -- but it wasn't enough as the Angels held on for a critical 3-2 win Friday night at Angel Stadium.

With the Texas Rangers winning Friday, the Astros' lead in the American League West was reduced to 1 1/2 games. The Angels moved to 4 1/2 games behind the Astros but remained three games behind the Rangers for the second wild-card spot.

Weaver lasted six innings, giving up two runs on the Gomez homer and nothing else. He struck out seven, matching a season-high.

"There's a couple guys on that team that are free-swingers and you kind of know that," Weaver said. "I'd hate to say I use their aggressiveness against them, (because) at the same time you still have to locate pitches and limit their aggressive swings, whether that means rushing a guy back or slowing stuff down. You definitely want to limit their aggressive hacks."

Weaver's fastball topped out at 84-mph Friday, but he also threw a few breaking balls that were clocked between 64-67 mph.

"We swing hard, we're very aggressive," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "You can always look back and wish that he had to work a little bit more, but that's revisionist history. Our guys are competing, this guy's been tough on us.

"He's a difficult style for us to match up against. He pitches to the corners, he slows the game down, he's got as slow a breaking ball as anybody in the league. He's a pitcher, and he was tough on us."

The Angels hitters had their work cut out for them going up against Astros starter Dallas Keuchel, who had won his previous five starts. They were able to get to him for three unearned runs in the second inning, thanks in part to an error by Keuchel.

Keuchel couldn't handle a high chopper hit to him by Angels second baseman Taylor Featherston with runners on first and second and two outs.

With the bases loaded and right fielder Kole Calhoun at the plate, Keuchel threw a wild pitch, allowing shortstop Erick Aybar to score from third and moving the other baserunners to second and third.

Calhoun then singled to left field, scoring two more runs. Featherston scored from second on a close play at the plate, which the Astros challenged, but the call was upheld for a 3-0 Angels lead.

Keuchel (17-7) struck out seven and gave up five hits and two walks to get his first loss in more than a month (Aug. 7).

"I was surprised by a couple of things that are uncharacteristic of him," Hinch said of Keuchel. "A few walks, obviously the misplay in the second. It's rare to watch him struggle with his command a little bit. I don't know what happened on the chopper, he could have lost it in the lights, but it came back to haunt us."

The Angels, though were unable to put anything else across, so when Gomez homered to make it 3-2 in the sixth, the Angels needed stellar work from their bullpen, and they got it.

Fernando Salas (seventh inning), Joe Smith (eighth) and Huston Street (ninth, 34th save) finished it off without allowing a hit.

With the win, Weaver got his 138th career victory, tying him with Nolan Ryan for second on the Angels' all-time list. Chuck Finley is No. 1 with 165 wins. Weaver, though, wasn't patting himself on the back.

"It's kind of weird to hear your name with a guy like that." Weaver said. "But it just means I've been a part of some great teams here and had a chance to stay with one organization."

NOTES: Astros RHP Scott Feldman was diagnosed with a sprained right shoulder and will miss the rest of the season. Feldman had an MRI exam Thursday, which revealed the injury. He last pitched Sept. 1, leaving the game with shoulder discomfort. After a couple of cortisone shots didn't solve the problem, the MRI was ordered. ... Angels 2B Johnny Giavotella, out since Aug. 20 with a condition that causes double vision, hit off a tee and took ground balls Friday. However, it's not known if he'll be able to return this season. ... INF Marwin Gonzalez's home run Wednesday was his 10th of the season, giving the Astros 11 players with at least 10, tying the major league record set by the 2004 Detroit Tigers. OF Jake Marisnick went into Friday's game with nine homers. ... Angels RHP Matt Shoemaker (strained right forearm) will not be ready for what would have been his next scheduled start on Tuesday. The Angels have not decided who will pitch that game against Seattle.