Houston gets back-to-back wins

10 years after his debut, Altuve leads Astros over Indians to secure series

Astros' Jose Altuve
Now a veteran of 10 years, Jose Altuve continues to provide the Astros a ton of upside. Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images.

After grabbing the opener on Monday, the Astros continued the series against the Indians on Tuesday seeking to secure the series with another victory. Thanks to a strong offensive performance, including leadoff man Jose Altuve blasting a couple of homers, they would grab a blowout victory.

Final Score: Astros 9, Indians 3

Astros' Record: 58-38, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Luis Garcia (7-5)

Losing Pitcher: Triston McKenzie (1-4)

Altuve sparks the offense

 

Possibly the biggest storyline of this game was that it was the 10-year anniversary of Jose Altuve's major-league debut. He kept the spotlight once play started, putting Houston on the board in the bottom of the first with a leadoff solo home run. He did it again to lead off the bottom of the third, doubling the Astros lead to 2-0.

Other parts of Houston's lineup would get in on the action in the bottom of the fifth, with two reaching base to set up a two-RBI single by Yordan Alvarez to make it 4-0. He, too, would later come around to score as Kyle Tucker would crush a 435-foot two-run bomb to extend the lead to 6-0 heading to the sixth. They didn't stop there, getting more runners on base to set up Michael Brantley for a two-RBI single to make it a six-run inning and 8-0 lead.

Garcia goes six shutout innings

Meanwhile, on the mound for the Astros, their starter had a great start. Luis Garcia cruised through his outing, allowing just three baserunners, all on singles which he would erase, making it through six effective, scoreless innings to maintain the lead given to him. His final line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 79 P.

Astros secure the series

After Kyle Tucker notched his third RBI of the night on a two-out single to make it 9-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Houston dipped into their bullpen in the top of the seventh to bring in Bryan Abreu. He worked around a two-out walk and single, erasing both to keep Cleveland off the board. Joe Smith was next, but he would have a rough inning as he allowed three runs on four-straight hits before getting through the frame.

Blake Taylor took over in the top of the ninth to try and close things out. He put a couple on base but worked around it to end the blowout win for Houston, who secures the series and gives them a chance to complete the series and season-series sweep on Wednesday.

Up Next: The third and final game of this series and the last game of the seven-game season series will get started at 7:10 PM Central on Wednesday. Lance McCullers Jr. (7-2, 2.80 ERA) will look to continue his impressive year for Houston, while Cleveland will hand the ball to Eli Morgan (1-3, 7.86 ERA).

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The Guardians beat the Astros, 10-6. Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images.

 Angel Martínez hit a grand slam off closer Josh Hader with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Cleveland Guardians to a 10-6 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

José Ramírez and Brayan Rocchio also homered to help the Guardians beat the Astros for a second straight night after entering the series on a 10-game skid.

Out for a second inning after throwing a scoreless ninth and with a runner on starting on second, Hader (5-2) intentionally walked Ramírez before walking Carlos Santana to load the bases. Hader struck out pinch-hitter Johnathan Rodríguez before Martínez sent a sinker 344 feet, into the first row of the seats in left field to put the Guardians on top.

Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase struck out one in a scoreless 10th to end it after Jakob Junis (2-1) struck out two in the ninth to earn the win.

Houston scored two runs in the eighth inning, with an RBI single from Jose Altuve, to tie it.

Altuve had two hits and drove in four runs, and rookie Cam Smith added three hits.

Houston starter Hunter Brown, who entered with an MLB-leading 1.82 ERA, yielded six hits and a season-high six runs in six innings.

There was one on with one out in the first when Ramírez homered for a second consecutive game, giving the Guardians a 2-0 lead.

The Astros cut the lead to 2-1 when Isaac Paredes scored on a sacrifice fly by Altuve in the bottom of the inning.

Rocchio doubled to start the third before scoring on a one-out double by Nolan Jones, making it 3-1. A two-out single by Daniel Schneemann scored two more, extending the lead to 5-1.

Altuve’s two-run double cut the lead to 6-3 with no outs in the fifth. Houston got within 6-4 when he scored on a sacrifice fly by Victor Caratini.

Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo allowed five hits and three runs with seven strikeouts in four-plus innings.

Key moment

The grand slam by Martínez into the Crawford Boxes.

Key stat

It’s the first time Cleveland has won back-to-back games since beating the Athletics June 21-22.

Up next

Houston LHP Brandon Walter (1-1, 4.15 ERA) opposes RHP Slade Cecconi (3-4, 3.56) when the series concludes Wednesday.

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