Victor Caratini and Zach Dezenzo clubbed back-to-back home runs in support of Ronel Blanco, who capped a breakout season with five scoreless innings, as the visiting Houston Astros claimed a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.
Caratini belted his eighth home run 350 feet to right field with one out in the fifth inning to push the Astros (87-73) to a 4-0 lead.
Dezenzo, a Cleveland-area native, followed with a 446-foot blast to center for his second home run of the season. Both homers came against Guardians reliever Eli Morgan.
Blanco (13-6) allowed one hit and two walks, striking out three, in 86 pitches. He worked around a pair of walks in the bottom of the first, benefitting from a double-play grounder. He induced another double play in the second before retiring the Guardians in order in the third and fourth.
Cleveland rookie starter Joey Cantillo (2-4) gave up three runs on six hits and two walks over 3 2/3 innings. He struck out seven.
Grae Kessinger worked a two-out walk to ignite the Astros’ fourth-inning rally. Jose Altuve doubled, and Kessinger scored on a wild pitch. Kyle Tucker then singled home Altuve, giving Houston a 3-0 lead and ending Cantillo’s outing.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the first. Altuve hit a leadoff double and scored two batters later when Alex Bregman lifted a sacrifice fly to right field.
The Guardians (92-68) threatened one out in the eighth against Astros rookie Spencer Arrighetti, who cruised through the previous two innings. Arrighetti walked Will Brennan, Daniel Schneemann, the No. 9 hitter, and Steven Kwan to load the bases.
Astros reliever Bryan Abreu entered and ended the threat with strikeouts of Kyle Manzardo and Jose Ramirez, preserving the 5-0 lead. Plate umpire Mark Wegner ejected Arrighetti after he was removed from the game.
The Guardians struck for a pair of runs off Astros closer Josh Hader in the ninth inning. David Fry produced a pinch-hit RBI double and Angel Martinez added a pinch-hit RBI groundout.
American League Central champion Cleveland remains one game behind the AL East champion New York Yankees (93-67) for the best record in the American League. Both teams have secured first-round playoff byes. Houston, the AL West champion, will be the No. 3 seed in the AL playoffs.
–Field Level Media
