CLEVELAND, OH (92.3 The Fan) – Since quickly ousting the Indians in the 2018 ALDS, the Houston Astros have made only one visit to Cleveland (July, 2019). While fans were frustrated that the Tribe got rocked on a national stage that October, it wasn’t until November 2019 that Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic unveiled that the Astros cheated during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
That meant Thursday’s series-opener against Houston marked the first trip to Progressive Field since the Astros sins became public record.
And while the 13,772 in Cleveland booed Jose Altuve, Yuri Gurriel and the Astros like crazy all night, the Tribe offense sputtered for the third straight night in a 7-2 loss.
Altuve delivered the big blow with a fifth inning grand slam to left field, quashing a once 2-0 Cleveland lead and shutting down their hopes for starting the series with a much-needed win.
Instead, the Tribe has dropped three in a row while the White Sox have won four straight games and Cleveland’s deficit in the AL Central now falls to 5.0 games.
THE GOOD – Franmil Reyes, Roberto Perez Close to Returning
Terry Francona told reporters on Thursday afternoon that Franmil Reyes and Roberto Perez are expected to be activated off the Indians’ Injured List before Saturday’s game against the Astros.
Reyes has 16 at bats with Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus during his rehab stint. He’s hit two home runs and posted a .313 average during that stretch. Reyes is in the lineup for Akron tonight and will have Friday off as he gets ready to return to Cleveland.
Roberto Perez has been on the 60-day IL with a finger injury after he fractured his right ring finger in late April. The first day that Perez is eligible to return is Saturday and his rehab has gone so well that it appears he’s on target to join the club this weekend. That said, there was a slight hold-your-breath moment during his Wednesday night rehab game in Akron when he was taken out of the game after he and the pitcher mixed up their signs and Perez bruised his hand. But Francona said Perez is alright and will catch in Columbus on Friday.
In anticipation that the next couple of days go as planned, Perez and Reyes will be back with the Indians this weekend.
THE BAD - Eddie Rosario, Bradley Zimmer Banged Up
Unfortunately, Thursday presented two additional injury notes for the Tribe. Eddie Rosario started Thursday’s game against Houston, but was pulled in the bottom of the 3rd inning with tightness in the right side of his abdominal muscle.
Meanwhile, Bradley Zimmer apparently tweaked his left ankle while running to third base on his triple in the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader. With the Astros throwing a lefty on Thursday (Framber Valdez), Francona decided to keep Zimmer out of the game to figure out if there is anything wrong with his ankle.
THE UGLY – An Uninspiring 3-Game Slide
Wednesday’s doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Tigers wasn’t pretty. In fact, over the past 12 seasons (2010-2021), the Indians have only been swept three times in 32 doubleheaders.
But Thursday’s bounce back effort didn’t go well against Houston.
Aside from Altuve’s grand slam, former Tribe all-star Michael Brantley went 3-for-5 with a single, double and solo home run. Yordan Alvarez also hit a titanic home run in the fourth inning – a 446 foot blast to straightaway center field that left the bat at 116 mph.
Cleveland scored its first run on a wild pitch and added just one hit with a runner in scoring position all night (1-for-9), when Harold Ramirez followed Jose Ramirez’s double with one of his own.
J.C. Mejia gave up six runs on five hits over four innings in his sixth Major League start.
The series continues on Friday night at 7:10 p.m. Left-hander Sam Hentges (1-2, 7.32) will get the ball for Cleveland against Houston right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. (5-1, 2.94).