"Time for Joe Espada to go asap" - Astros fans heartbroken as team faces humiliating loss against Angels 

The Houston Astros continue to reach new lows under the leadership of Joe Espada, who took over from legendary manager Dusty Baker this season. Despite dominating the better part of the last decade, the Astros started the season poorly, currently having a 21-27 season record following their humiliating 9-7 loss against the Los Angeles Angels.

On Monday, the Astros started on the right note, scoring four runs in the second. However, their pitching allowed a seven-run fifth inning which turned out to be pivotal.

Astros fans were left heartbroken once again and their reactions on the internet said it all. Identifying reasons, many blamed manager Joe Espada for their downward spiral this season:

"This loss is all on Espada! He once again blew it when a pitcher shows signs of struggling! We can not lose to division rivals," one fan wrote.

"Joe Espada disaster class," another wrote.

"Time for Espada to go asap," another posted.

Few others took hilarious routes to mock the Astros:

"RELENTLESS IN THE TRASHCAN!" one fan wrote.

"That’s it. I’m done. The Houston Astros just made me have my kids crying in a corner. My wife is leaving me and taking the kids away because this team has made me a risk to them. I speak for all Astros when I say that this happens to all of us. We are sick of this team, goodbye," another wrote a lengthy post to pity himself for being an Astros fan.

Framber Valdez's 7-run fifth innings landed Astros in trouble against Mike Trout-less Angels

One would expect last year's ALCS finalists to have an edge over a team that doesn't have its MVP in the lineup. However, such has been the season for the Astros that the club finds reasons to land in trouble.

Framble Valdez started the game for the Astros, who scored four in the second inning to give him a good cushion. However, the young Angels jumped on him in the fifth.

Willie Calhoun started the inning with a single, followed by a walk to Zach Neto. First baseman Nolan Schanuel hit a three-run homer to cut the deficit to two runs. Then came singles from Kevin Pillar and Tyler Ward while catcher Logan O'Hoppe brought them home with another three-run home run of the innings.

Not stopping there, right fielder Jo Adell scored a solo shot to give the Angels an 8-6 lead.

It's the first time in Angels history that four players under the age of 25 have homered in the same game:

“They're growing up,” manager Ron Washington said. “They’re starting to figure things out. They really didn’t try to do too much and they ended up doing a lot. And that’s what it’s about.”

Astros manager gave his take on Framber Valdez's outing:

“He just kind of was lost, started leaving some pitches in the heart of the plate and they put some really good swings on them,” manager Joe Espada said. “His stuff was really good... just that fifth inning he kind of lost the feel for the zone.”

With the win, the Astros dropped to 21-27, while the Angels improved to 19-29.