Having looked vulnerable in the aftermath of recently losing seven-time All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez and standout rookie right fielder Chase DeLauter to injuries, the Cleveland Guardians produced a much-needed win on Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Guardians snapped a three-game road losing streak with a 4-2 victory that set a positive tone in advance of opening a three-game road series against the Houston Astros on Friday night.
Cleveland scored three or fewer runs seven times while losing eight of 11 games entering Thursday. The Guardians, however, hit three home runs in the win and showed signs of promise without Ramirez (left hamate fracture) and DeLauter (fractured rib), whose injured-list stints began this week.
“We took a big hit over the weekend,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It’s going to take this offense some time to get its cadence and get its rhythm. “We’ve got to keep working, we’ve got to keep going and we’re going to get better.”
Right-hander Tanner Bibee (2-7, 3.96 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Guardians on Friday.
It will mark the American League-leading 16th start of 2026 for Bibee, who began the season winless over his first 13 starts (0-7, 4.57 ERA) before recording back-to-back victories over the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers, against whom he allowed two runs on two hits with eight strikeouts over seven innings in a 3-2 victory last Friday.
Bibee pitched eight scoreless innings in a 6-0 road win against the Rangers on June 6.
Bibee is 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA across four career starts against the Astros. He allowed two runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts over six innings in a 2-0 loss to them on April 22.
Right-hander Tatsuya Imai (3-3, 6.43 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Astros in the series opener. He was unable to escape the first inning in his previous start last Friday against the Kansas City Royals despite being gifted a 9-0 lead. Imai departed after allowing five runs on four hits and one walk while recording only two outs. That concluded a promising three-start stretch in which Imai allowed two runs or fewer and went 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA and 15 strikeouts across 17 innings.
He will make his first career start against the Guardians.
Houston right-hander Mike Burrows (3-8, 5.86 ERA) will have his turn in the rotation skipped this weekend and is set to piggyback Imai on Friday. He is tied for the major league lead in losses, and his 51 earned runs allowed are the most in the American League.
The Astros hope that Burrows, who made four relief appearances with the Pittsburgh Pirates last season, can sort out his issues working out of the bullpen.
The return of ace right-hander Hunter Brown from a two-plus-month stint on the injured list earlier this week, plus the continued reliability from right-hander Peter Lambert, allowed the Astros to tinker with their rotation.
Lambert allowed one run on two hits and recorded five strikeouts across seven innings in a series-clinching 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. That result featured the bottom third of the Houston order — Joey Loperfido, Jake Meyers and Christian Vazquez — finishing 2-for-8 with three walks and two runs.
“We got some production from the bottom of our order,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “We had a really good approach. We used the entire field. Our swing decisions were good.”
–Field Level Media
