The Cleveland Guardians were shutout by Houston Astros at home on Thursday night by a final score of 6-0. The loss for the Guardians is the third straight against the Astros in the four games the two teams have played.
For Cleveland (54-51), the team only accumulated three hits the entire ball game. Those hits came by outfielder Steven Kwan, first baseman Josh Naylor and catcher Austin Hedges. The hit for Kwan on Thursday marks the 18th straight game that the rookie has recorded a hit. Starting pitcher Zach Plesac took his 10th loss of the season for going 4.1 innings and striking out four batters, but allowing five walks and seven hits that resulted in four earned runs.
For Houston (69-38), outfielder Chas McCormick hit an RBI single in the 3rd inning to get the Astros on the board. In the 5th inning, McCormick would strike again with another RBI single, while catcher Martin Maldonado would hit a two-run RBI double to give Houston a 4-0 lead. Finally in the 7th, McCormick and Maldonado would both hit solo homeruns to give the Astros the 6-0 win. Ace pitcher Justin Verlander got his 15th win of the season for going 6.0 innings and striking out five batters, while only walking one batter and allowing two hits.
The Guardians will take on the Houston Astros at home again on Friday, August 5th, with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m.