Guardians vs Astros Recap: Bazzana 4-for-4, 3 runs, 2 HR

The Cleveland Guardians rolled into Houston on a losing streak, but they brought their bats ready to fire. The Astros were riding a three-game winning streak at home, so this was a real test. Right from the start, Travis Bazzana announced himself with a monster swing. On the first pitch he saw, Bazzana launched a 382-foot bomb to right-center that made the scoreboard light up. One swing, and Cleveland led 1-0 before Houston even got a chance to bat. The Astros answered back fast in the second inning when Yainer Diaz lined a single to right. That brought in Isaac Paredes to tie things up at 1-1. But Cleveland's bats were hungry. In the third inning, Kyle Manzardo stepped up with two outs and crushed his own home run 388 feet into the sky. Bazzana scored ahead of him, and just like that, the Guardians were up 3-1. The game was swinging Cleveland's way early.

The fifth inning changed everything. Bazzana stepped back up to the plate against Spencer Arrighetti, and he was hungry for another swing. An 81-mile-per-hour sweeper came in, and Bazzana crushed it. The ball rocketed 406 feet to right-center field. This time, both Steven Kwan and Patrick Bailey scored ahead of him. Cleveland stretched their lead to 6-1, and Houston's pitchers were in trouble. The Guardians weren't done. In the seventh inning, Bazzana singled to right, and Bailey scored to make it 7-1. Then Kyle Manzardo stepped up and smashed a single of his own, driving in Petey Halpin and extending Cleveland's lead to 8-1. Joey Cantillo was dealing on the mound too, striking out nine batters through eight innings while giving up just one run. The Guardians were running away with this game by the middle innings.

The Astros never really got close in this one. Houston managed just one run the whole game, and their offense couldn't find the spark they needed. Jose Altuve went 2-for-4, and Yordan Alvarez struck out without a hit. The pitching staff struggled too. Spencer Arrighetti took the loss after giving up six runs in six innings. Cleveland's pitching was lockdown. Joey Cantillo threw eight strong innings with nine strikeouts. Matt Festa came in for the ninth and struck out two more batters. When the final out was made, Cleveland had dominated the Astros 8-1. The Guardians improved their season record to 40-36 with this big road win. Houston fell to 36-41. This was exactly the kind of statement win Cleveland needed after losing four of their last ten games. Bazzana's two home runs and four hits showed why he's becoming one of the team's biggest offensive weapons moving forward.