Tonight at 7:10 PM CT, the Astros will begin hosting the Guardians in a three-game set at MMP.
The Astros welcome the Cleveland Guardians to Minute Maid Park for three games starting tonight.
This is the first of two series between these two clubs this season. They’ll play another three -game set in Cleveland to close out the regular season, from September 27 through 29. Including the postseason, the Astros hold a 45-44 edge in head-to-head play.
Gametimes and Starting Pitchers
Tuesday, 7:10 PM CT: Carlos Carrasco (1-2, 4.63) vs. Hunter Brown (0-4, 9.68)
Wednesday, 7:10 PM CT: Triston McKenzie (2-2, 4.91) vs. Justin Verlander (1-0, 1.74)
Thursday, 7:10 PM CT: Logan Allen (3-1, 5.46) vs. Spencer Arrighetti (0-3, 10.97)
These two teams played each other six times last season as well, with Houston winning four of them. The Astros swept the three-game set at home from July 31 through August 2. In the series finale, Chas McCormick hit two home runs (15) with three RBI to lead Houston to a 3-2 win. Phil Maton (3-3, 3.18) earned the win, while Ryan Pressly (26) earned the save. Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, and Yainer Diaz also each collected a pair of hits.
He had an incredible month, he’s had an incredible season so far and today he was huge for us driving in all three runs. He’s been a big difference maker for our team. — Alex Bregman, on Chas
Houston just completed a two-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies in Mexico. In the series’ closing contest, Kyle Tucker (7), Jose Altuve (7) and Jeremy Peña (3) each collected home runs, with Alex Bregman and Altuve finishing with two hits each. Framber Valdez (1-0, 2.60) got the win, striking out six over five innings, allowing two runs on five hits and zero walks. Rafael Montero, Bryan Abreu, Ryan Pressly, and Josh Hader each turned in a scoreless inning of relief.
I thought he threw the ball well. The first couple of innings, command wasn’t there, but he settled in. He threw some really good changeups and he gave us five innings. That’s exactly what we wanted out of him. — Joe Espada, on Valdez
Cleveland is coming off a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves, winning one of them. Andrés Giménez, David Fry and Brayan Rocchio led Cleveland’s offense with two hits each in the series-ending 4-3 loss. Emmanuel Clase (1-1, 0.63) was tagged with a rare loss in walk-off fashion.
They’re never going to dial back the aggression. These guys are great baseball players with high IQs. Sometimes, you just try and do a little too much. — Stephen Vogt, on aggressive baserunning
Hot or Not? (Highest and lowest WPA from Houston’s series with the Rockies)
Bryan Abreu 15.6
Framber Valdez 15.3
Kyle Tucker 13.8
Yordan Alvarez 9.6
Jeremy Peña 9.1
Josh Hader 0.6
Chas McCormick -0.5
Mauricio Dubon -0.8
Alex Bregman -4.9
Jose Abreu -10.4