Carlos Correa, pitching help Astros take series vs Indians with a 3-2 win

During this three-game series against Cleveland in Progressive Field, the Astros have looked again like the team we know they are. With a stellar performance by Carlos Correa and their pitching, the ‘Stros won a low-scoring one 3-2 to secure the series and get their third victory in a row, which was a pretty valuable one considering the Astros played without Yordan (paternity list), José Altuve, Michael Brantley, and Kyle Tucker.

The game kicked off with a run for Houston, thanks to a quality at-bat from Carlos Correa. After a double by Myles Straw and a Yuli Gurriel single, Correa got to home plate with men on the corners. In the 10th pitch of the matchup against young righty Eli Morgan, the star shortstop hit an RBI single to drive in the first run of the game.

What came next was another good job by starter Jake Odorizzi, who won his third consecutive decision. Odo, who got nine grounders, threw six innings of four hits and two runs (one earned), with two walks and two strikeouts. He needed 91 pitches (55 strikes) to complete his night.

The veteran righty keeps doing a wonderful job for the Astros. In his four most recent outings, the 31-year-old has pitched 20 episodes and allowed only eight hits and one earned run, along with 17 punchouts. That’s good for a 0.45 ERA and a 2-0 record.

In the top fourth, Correa did it again. Once more vs Morgan, he smacked his 16th home run of the regular season on a fly ball to left field. Correa finished 2-for-2 with two ribbies and two walks.

But it wasn’t it for Houston, as Abraham Toro also hit a solo shot (3rd for him) to make it 3-0.

Right in the bottom fourth, Bradley Zimmer drove in the Indians’ first run, but Odorizzi kept dominating until the seventh frame, where Eddie Rosario and Harold Ramírez hit consecutive doubles to leave the score 3-2 and end Odorizzi’s outing.

After that, it became a bullpen game. Ryne Stanek came in the seventh and got a scoreless inning despite inheriting a runner in second base. Then, Cristian Javier struck out two hitters in a perfect eighth and Ryan Pressly got his 14th save of the season with two more punchouts in the ninth. Those three arms combined for three perfect episodes of six strikeouts.

On Sunday (1:10 pm ET), the Astros will go for the four-game series sweep. Their leader in wins (8), Zack Greinke, takes the hill to face the Indians for his first time since 2017. As an additional stat, Greinke hasn’t lost a game vs Cleveland since 2010.

VIDEOS AND BOX SCORE HERE.