Astros blanked by Bieber, Guardians to drop series

The Astros are not looking well right now. On Sunday afternoon, they were absolutely dominated by former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber, who shut them out over seven innings to give the Guardians the win 5-0. That way, the Astros lost the series and have dropped six of their last eight games.

Brandon Bielak failed to hold off the opposition this Sunday as he surrendered nine hits and five earned runs through only five innings. He scattered homers to Andrés Giménez and Josh Bell. That was quite different from what Bieber did – he allowed only three hits, gave up one walk, and struck out nine.

The Astros went against Bieber with a B lineup. No José Altuve, no Martín Maldonado, no Jeremy Peña, and no Yordan Álvarez, who’s currently on the injured list. Yainer Díaz, who served as the starting catcher, had the Astros’ lone extra-base hit (double).

Giménez gave the Guardians the lead with a two-run shot in the second inning while Bell followed him with a solo homer in the fourth to make it 3-0. Bielak has now given up nine home runs across 42 2/3 innings this season.

On a positive note, Matt Gage threw two scoreless innings of one hit, one walk, and one strikeout. Also, Rafael Montero pitched a shutout ninth with two strikeouts.

The Astros will not play on Monday but will get back to the field at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday, hosting the Washington Nationals during a three-game series to begin a homestand.

VIDEOS AND BOX SCORE HERE.