CLEVELAND — Jose Altuve played in his 2,000th regular-season game Tuesday, becoming just the third player in franchise history to reach that milestone in an Astros uniform, joining Hall of Famers Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell. It was a moment worth celebrating. The game itself was not.
The Houston Astros led 4-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth before the bullpen unraveled, surrendering six runs in the frame as the Cleveland Guardians rallied for an 8-5 win at Progressive Field. The series is now tied at one game apiece, setting up a rubber match Wednesday.
Ryan Weiss lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with four walks, throwing first-pitch strikes to just seven of 19 batters. Colton Gordon stranded two inherited runners in the fourth, and Kai-Wei Teng worked two-plus efficient innings after that, erasing the one baserunner he allowed on a double-play grounder. Houston added an unearned run in the seventh on a Carlos Correa flare single and carried a 4-2 lead into the eighth.
Then it fell apart. Enyel De Los Santos faced four batters and allowed three to reach, with Brayan Rocchio’s single halving the lead. Manager Joe Espada called on Bryan King, who walked Steven Kwan to load the bases. Chase DeLauter sliced a fly ball to left that Brice Matthews couldn’t corral on a sliding attempt, the ball rolling to the wall for a bases-clearing triple. Kyle Manzardo followed with a two-run single to make it 8-4. Bryan Abreu was warming in the bullpen by then, a telling image for a relief corps still without Josh Hader.
The fifth inning offered a glimpse of what might have been. Isaac Paredes singled and Yainer Diaz doubled to put runners on second and third with one out. Matthews flared a single to center to score Paredes, but he rounded first too aggressively and was caught in a rundown for the inning’s second out. Messick hit Dustin Harris and walked Correa to load the bases for Yordan Alvarez, who lofted a ball to left that scored two runs, confirmed after Espada argued the run count with the umpiring crew following a successful Guardians challenge on Alvarez at second. Houston led 3-2, though the baserunning miscue had cost them dearly.
Alvarez finished with three RBI, adding a run-scoring double in the ninth. Correa went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The injury front brought more bad news. Harris was hit on the left hand by a 93.6 mph sinker in the fifth inning and replaced on defense after the half-inning. Daniel Johnson, called up from Triple-A Sugar Land earlier in the day to replace the injured Taylor Trammell, entered in center field. Initial X-rays showed no fracture, but Espada described the hand as swollen, leaving his status for Wednesday uncertain.
Altuve’s milestone came quietly, as it always does with him. Manager Joe Espada called it a reflection of his “discipline, consistency, preparation, mindset, toughness, grit” before the game. Only Biggio and Bagwell have played more games as an Astro. Wednesday, Peter Lambert gets the ball as Houston looks to salvage the series.
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