José Abreu delivers another homer to help the Astros snap losing series

After Yordan Álvarez suffered an oblique injury, José Abreu had a clear assignment – he needed to step up and prove he can still be a productive hitter. The good news is he’s doing so. On Saturday night against the Guardians, Abreu hit a home run for the second straight day to help the Astros take the win 6-4.

Again in the first inning of the game, Abreu launched a 421-foot, two-run rocket over the fence through left-center field against Triston McKenzie to make it 3-0. Previously, Alex Bregman had singled home a run to give the Astros the lead 1-0.

It’s the first time Abreu’s hit a home run in back-to-back days since August 2022. In nine games in June, the Cuban first baseman is hitting .290, a much better mark than the one he posted in May (.180 through 26 contests).

In his last three games, Abreu is 6-for-16 with six RBIs. This time, he ended up 2-for-5 with three ribbies and one run scored to back up starter JP France.

France pitched well but lacked control. To pick up his second win of the season, he went 6 2/3 innings and allowed seven hits and only three earned runs despite giving up six walks. He struck out six hitters.

Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly took charge of the final outs of the game to seal the win, the first one for the Astros after dropping four in a row.

On Sunday, Houston will have the chance to take the series as both teams will collide again to end the three-game set. Brandon Bielak will face righty Shane Bieber at 11:40 am CT.

VIDEOS AND BOX SCORE HERE.