The Houston Astros fell to the Cleveland Guardians 7-5 on Monday night inside Daikin Park. The loss opens the final homestand for the Astros before next week’s All-Star Break.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Astros (55-36) went with left-hander Colton Gordon on the mound. Gordon worked a clean first, retiring the Guardians without allowing anything in the first frame.
The Guardians (41-48) have been struggling mightily of late, losing 10 straight games entering this one. They turned to Tanner Bibee on the mound. He also worked a scoreless first, which would be a precursor of things to come.
Both starters kept the opposition off the board for the first four innings. During that stretch, Bibee did not allow a hit either.
The fifth inning changed the momentum of this game greatly. First, Cleveland got to Gordon with an infield RBI single from Steven Kwan. Then, Jose Ramirez delivered a big three-run blast to make it 4-0 Guardians.
Houston would answer promptly. Taylor Trammell recorded his first hit as an Astro, and made sure it was a big one. A three-run shot into the Crawford Boxes made this a 4-3 game. Just a few batters later, the game was tied thanks to an Isaac Paredes home run.
The Guardians worked quickly to retake the lead in the sixth. Brayan Rocchio doubled home two runs, making it 6-4 in favor of Cleveland. However, Victor Caratini responded with a homer in the bottom half to make it 6-5.
It would stay 6-5 until the top of the ninth. In that frame, David Fry just narrowly snuck a solo shot into the aforementioned Crawford Boxes to extend the Guardians lead to 7-5.
Emmanuel Clase was able to record the save in the bottom half, securing the win to end the Guardians’ 10-game losing streak.
BIG NUMBER: 7
While it may not seem like a ton, the seven runs were an outburst for the struggling Guardians’ offense. That marked the first time they scored more than six runs since June 11th, nearly a full month ago.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jose Ramirez
Ramirez was the star on Monday, as he went 2-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. His bat helped Cleveland to finally break out of their team-wide slump.
UP NEXT: The Astros and Guardians will face off again tomorrow night at 7:10 PM. You can listen to the action on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.