José Altuve slugged a game-altering three-run homer to lead the Houston Astros to a 9-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday. The Astros improved to 16-10 since May 22.
What happened?
The Astros' Jeremy Peña and José Altuve combined for three home runs and seven RBIs.
Key performance
Altuve launched a first-pitch fastball from Cleveland reliever Matt Festa into the left field seats for his eighth homer and a 5-3 lead on Friday.
Impact on the team
The Astros moved within five games of .500 for the first time since April 17. Altuve and Pena went a combined 5-for-9 with seven RBIs.
The Guardians starter Tanner Bibee allowed an unearned run in the first inning and a solo homer to Pena in the third. Bibee departed with one out and two runners on base in the sixth, and Altuve immediately took advantage.
Pena homered again leading off the seventh, and Altuve added an RBI double later in that frame. Guardians right-hander Daniel Espino surrendered both of those runs.
The Astros right-hander Tatsuya Imai produced a quality start despite a lamentable third inning. Imai struck out three batters in the top of the first but also surrendered singles to Travis Bazzana and Brayan Rocchio.
Imai buckled down following Rhys Hoskins' blast. He retired the final two batters of the third to ignite a string of 11 consecutive batters retired through the completion of his outing.
Imai matched his season high by working six innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts on Friday.
Bibee wound up charged with four runs, three earned, on four hits in 5 1/3 innings. He fanned seven and walked two.
The Guardians are 1-3 since Jose Ramirez, Chase DeLauter and Angel Martinez all landed on the injured list after suffering injuries in a win over Detroit on June 13.