After a rough first road trip, the Astros bounced back in their second, shutting out the Guardians 2-0 in the final game of the series. Now they are headed home with a victory to take on the New York Yankees at Daikin Park.
After a brutal start to the season, the Astros played their second shutout game of the year, the first coming against the Athletics in an 11-0 win, their only victory on the opening road trip.
So, what led to the second shutout? That would be largely due to Peter Lambert.
Lambert had an exceptional outing against the Guardians and set the tone from the start, with the Astros improving to 10-16. This was the type of response Houston needed after bullpen struggles the night before.
Lambert start line, per MLB:
6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K
This was his first quality start of the Astros season. He worked through early traffic and settled in after the first few innings, retiring 9 of the final 10 batters and generating swing-and-miss.
Lambert was a non-roster invitee brought in to stabilize the rotation, and that is exactly what he did and then some.
After countless pitching struggles, Lambert delivered exactly the kind of performance the Astros needed on the mound.
Another key contributor to the win was Yordan Álvarez. He has been the rock of the offense and currently leads the league in home runs with 11 so far this season. Aaron Judge follows closely behind, setting up an early-season race between the two as the Astros and Yankees prepare to meet in Daikin Park.
In the first inning, Álvarez delivered a two-run home run with an exit velocity of 108.8 mph and a distance of 422 feet, ironically on 4/22, per MLB.
The Astros came out quickly, scoring two runs in the first inning after a Carlos Correa double sparked the rally.
The Astros finished with six hits, while Cleveland totaled five, and although Houston stranded a few runners, their offense went quiet after the early burst.
The Astros closed out a stretch of 13 games without an off day, and the series win helped salvage the end of the road trip.
They now return home to face the New York Yankees at Daikin Park. With the team still trying to stabilize amid injuries, Houston will need continued length from its rotation and steady production from Yordan Álvarez, whose home run provided all the offense in the win.