MLB

Houston Astros at Cleveland Guardians

· Major League Baseball
Houston Astros
87-73, 41-38 Away
Final
5 - 2
Cleveland Guardians
92-68, 50-29 Home

Houston pitchers combine for 3-hitter, Astros down Guardians 5-2 in matchup of AL division champs

Blanco (13-6) allowed just a single in five innings and remained unbeaten in his last nine starts. He combined with three relievers on a three-hitter as the Astros held on to win despite striking out 13 times and stranding 12 runners.

“You could make a case he's one of our best starters,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of Blanco, who has a 0.75 ERA in four September starts. “He has helped us get to this point.”

Blanco was replaced by rookie Spencer Arrighetti, who made his first career relief appearance after 28 starts.

Arrighetti was good for two innings but walked the bases loaded in the eighth. As he was lifted, the right-hander was ejected by plate umpire Mark Wegner, who didn't appreciate him spiking the resin bag on the mound or his words on the way off.

It was a new role for Arrighetti. He hadn't pitched out of the bullpen since college, but could be used that way in the playoffs.

“It felt familiar, I was just a little bit rusty,” said Arrighetti. “I think I'll be able to find a better routine the next time I do it.”

Bryan Abreu came in and got the Astros out of the eighth by striking out rookie Kyle Manzardo and All-Star José Ramírez.

Held to one hit for eight innings, the Guardians got two runs in the ninth off Josh Hader, who finished up.

Victor Caratini and Dezenzo hit back-to-back homers in the fifth inning for the AL West champion Astros, who are locked into the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and will host a wild-card series next week.

If the Astros advance, they'll play in Cleveland on Oct. 5 in Game 1 of the ALDS.

The Guardians are still chasing the New York Yankees for the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

After going 7-19 in April, Houston has turned it around by going 80-54 — the majors' second-best mark over that span.

After Caratini's shot to right off Eli Morgan made it 4-0, Dezenzo, who was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land earlier in the day and struck out his first two times up, blasted a 1-2 pitch over the wall in center.

It was quite a moment for Dezenzo. He grew up a Guardians fan in Alliance, Ohio, before playing at Ohio State.

“I grew up coming to this park and I watched a lot of guys like Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore, Jim Thome,” he said. “So hitting a home run here, there's a lot of nostalgia and really, really cool for me.”

Guardians rookie starter Joey Cantillo allowed six hits in 3 2/3 innings.

“Just threw a lot of pitches,” he said. “Just was not very sharp for the most part, for the entirety of the game. Deep counts. Falling behind."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Astros: LF Yordan Alvarez (knee sprain) ran on a treadmill in Houston and Espada said the slugger is “getting better quickly.” Espada said Alvarez will need to do more to be able to hit before he's considered for the wild-card roster due Tuesday. “You can’t just go from what he's doing now to the baseball field,” Espada said. “He’s a really, really good player but we need him to check some boxes.”

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (finger blister) had a productive bullpen session on Thursday as he continues progress from an injury that has sidelined him nearly a month. Vogt was vague in addressing what's next for Cobb, who has made only three starts since being acquired in a trade.

UP NEXT

Guardians RHP Ben Lively (13-9, 3.80 ERA) starts against Justin Verlander (4-6, 5.55), who will be facing Cleveland for the 57th time in his career.

How can I watch Houston Astros vs. Cleveland Guardians?
  • TV Channel: Astros at Guardians 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Guardians: 47.9%
Astros: 52.1%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Rocchio flied out to center.
9th Inning Rocchio hit for Schneemann
9th Inning Martínez grounded out to second, Thomas scored, Fry to third.
9th Inning Martínez hit for Bo Naylor
9th Inning Noel struck out swinging.
9th Inning Noel hit for Brennan

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/hou.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originHOU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/cle.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCLE
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 1
13 Ground Balls 12
13 Strikeouts 10
4 Runs Batted In 2
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
13 Hits 3
0 Stolen Bases 1
5 Walks 6
0 Catcher Interference 0
5 Runs 2
1 Ground Into Double Play 2
1 Sacrifice Flies 0
38 At Bats 29
2 Home Runs 0
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
22 Runners Left On Base 17
0 Triples 0
1 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
4 Doubles 1
13 Fly Balls 7
0 Caught Stealing 0
199 Pitches 173
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 4
0 Pinch Hits 1
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 1
23 Total Bases 4
44 Plate Appearances 36
324.0 Projected Home Runs 0.0
6 Extra Base Hits 1
8.8 Runs Created 0.9
.342 Batting Average .103
.000 Pinch Hit Average .250
.605 Slugging Percentage .138
.395 Secondary Average .276
.409 On Base Percentage .278
1.014 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .416
1.0 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 1.7
8.8 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 0.8
45.0 Batter Rating 14.0
19.0 At Bats Per Home Run 0.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 1.00
4.52 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.81
.263 Isolated Power .034
0.38 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.60
.114 Walks Per Plate Appearance .167
.053 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .172
9.0 Runs Produced 4.0
0.8 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.7 Patience Ratio 0.3
0.5 Balls In Play Average 0.2
96.0 MLB Rating 63.0
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Progressive Field

Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 34,149 | Capacity:

2024 American League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston 88 73 .547 - W2
Seattle 85 77 .525 3.5 W4
Texas 78 84 .481 10.5 W3
Oakland 69 93 .426 19.5 L3
Los Angeles 63 99 .389 25.5 L6

2024 American League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 92 69 .571 - L2
Kansas City 86 76 .531 6.5 W1
Detroit 86 76 .531 6.5 L2
Minnesota 82 80 .506 10.5 L4
Chicago 41 121 .253 51.5 W2
Full Standings