Cleveland Guardians Face Struggling Astros in Series Showdown

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros are set to begin a three-game series at Daikin Park starting Monday at 8:10 p.m. ET.

Both teams are coming off contrasting results. The Guardians (40-48) are on a 10-game losing streak, most recently being swept at home by the Tigers. In contrast, the Astros (56-34) swept the Dodgers over the weekend and have won nine of their last 11 games.

The matchup pits Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee (4-9, 4.20 ERA) against Astros lefty Colton Gordon (3-1, 4.37 ERA) on Monday. Following that, left-hander Joey Cantillo (1-0, 3.41) will face right-hander Hunter Brown (9-3, 1.82) on Tuesday, and right-hander Slade Cecconi (3-4, 3.56) will take on left-hander Brandon Walter (1-1, 4.15) on Wednesday.

This season, the Astros hold a 2-1 advantage over the Guardians, and historically lead the all-time series, 48-46.

For the Guardians, Steven Kwan has a .571 batting average (4 for 7) against the Astros this year, while Bo Naylor is at .429 (3 for 7). Cade Smith secured Cleveland’s lone victory earlier this month against Houston.

On the injury front, the Guardians are dealing with multiple absences, including OF Lane Thomas (plantar fasciitis) and LHP Shane Bieber (right elbow). Meanwhile, the Astros are without SS Jeremy Pena (broken rib) and several other players, including RHP Christian Javier and LF Yordan Alvarez.

In their last ten games, the Guardians are winless at 0-10, hitting just .166 as a team. The Astros, however, are performing well, hitting .304 during the same stretch.

The Guardians, battling a slump, will look to find their footing against a formidable Astros team with the best home record in the American League.