For the Astros, this three-game series in Cleveland is relatively meaningless. Other than keeping players healthy, there isn’t anything to necessarily play for. Yes, the Guardians were only a game back of the Yankees for the first seed in the AL, but New York also held the tiebreaker, so it is effectively a two-game lead with only three to play. If the seeding remains the same, the third-seed Astros would meet the second-seed Guardians in the ALDS if they advanced past the Wild Card round.
That said, we got to watch plenty of Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti, which has generally been a good thing this season. Blanco didn’t have his best swing-and-miss stuff this evening, generating only five whiffs on 45 swings and three strikeouts, but he did hold the Guardians to one hit and two walks across five scoreless innings. Blanco finishes his 2024 season with an impressive 2.80 ERA across 167 1⁄3 innings.
Arrighetti would pitch the next 2 1⁄3 innings by striking out four before getting ejected in the eighth, perhaps providing insight into how the Astros will utilize the two right-handers, with Blanco starting and Arrighetti waiting in the wings depending on the situation. It is an arrangement that could optimize Arrighetti’s swing-and-miss potential, which is an intriguing option for a bullpen possibly without Tayler Scott to help bridge the gap from the starting pitcher to the trio of Josh Hader, Ryan Pressly, and Bryan Abreu. Talking about Abreu and Hader, they both made an appearance, with the former striking out two in 2⁄3 of an inning and the latter hopefully getting a suboptimal outing out of his system before the Wild Card series.
The lineup, for the most part, had a solid game. 13 hits in total with five runs scored. Kyle Tucker looks increasingly ready for the postseason with three hits tonight. Jose Altuve had two doubles and a walk along with scoring two runs. Alex Bregman also had three hits, including two doubles. Victor Caratini and Zach Dezenzo each had solo home runs, but also struck out three times. A 5-0 lead after five innings. Of course, the Guardians would score two runs in the bottom half of the ninth to add a little bit of drama at the end.
Ultimately, the Astros did well considering they got the win without any additional injuries to worry about at the moment. Yordan Alvarez’s status for the Wild Card series next week remains in limbo, however. But Houston will face either the Tigers or Royals next week as both clinched a spot in the postseason.