Kai-Wei Teng (W, 4-6) had struggled in his most recent 4 starts, and very much looked like a candidate to be replaced in the rotation. Teng put at least a temporary hold on all of that today.
Teng pitched 6 strong innings against the Guardians this afternoon, allowing just one run on 4 hits with a walk and 4 strikeouts in earning his 4th win of the season. Steven Okert, Bryan King, and Josh Hader (S, 5) followed with scoreless innings of relief as the Houston Astros (37-42) defeated the Cleveland
Guardians (41-37) 2-1 at Daikin Park on Father’s Day.
The victory clinched the series victory for the Astros, who have won three consecutive series for the first time this season. The Astros are now 17-11 since May 21.
Yordan Alvarez got the Astros on the board first with his league-leading 25th HR of the season in the bottom of the first, a solo shot off Guardians’ starter Slade Cecconi (L, 3-6).
Alvarez would later off the bottom of the 4th with a walk, advance to 2nd on a single by Christian Walker, and the score on a single by Isaac Paredes to make it a 2-0 lead. However that was all the Astros could muster in both that inning and the rest of the game.
In the bottom of the 5th, a one-out triple by Petey Halpin followed by a groundout by Travis Bazzana accounted for the Guardians only run off Teng.
The Guardians did not get another hit the rest of the way.
The Astros are currently 2.5 GB of the Seattle Mariners pending the results of their game today, and 2GB the Blue Jays and Athletics for the final Wild Card spot.
Following today’s game, the Astros travel to Toronto for a 3 game series with the Blue Jays.
Pitching probables for that series:
Mon: Hunter Brown vs. Dylan Cease
Tues: Peter Lambert vs. Shane Bieber
Wed: Mike Burrows vs. Trey Yesavage
