Two consecutive home runs put the Astros over the Guardians

Victor Caratini and Zach Dezenzo hit back-to-back home runs in support of Ronel Blanco, who capped a breakout season with five scoreless innings as the Houston Astros cruised to a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.

Caratini blasted his eighth home run 350 feet to right field with one out in the fifth inning to give the Astros (87-73) a 4-0 lead.

Dezenzo, a Cleveland native, followed with a 446-foot shot to center for his second home run of the season. Both home runs came off Guardians reliever Eli Morgan, who replaced rookie starter Joey Cantillo with two outs in the previous inning.

Houston tagged Cantillo for three runs, with Kyle Tucker producing an RBI single that gave the Astros a 3-0 lead and chased Cantillo from the game. Jose Altuve doubled the lead in the first and scored two batters later when Alex Bregman hit a sacrifice fly to right field for a 1-0 lead.

Grae Kessinger scored with a two-out walk to start the Astros' fourth-inning rally. Altuve doubled and Kessinger scored on a wild pitch. Tucker then hit a single against Altuve.

Cantillo (2-4) recorded seven strikeouts but allowed three runs on six hits and two walks over 3 2/3 innings.

Blanco (13-6) avoided two walks in the bottom of the first and benefited from a double-play grounder. He caused another double play in the second game before retiring the Guardians in the third and fourth games in order.

Cleveland recorded its only hit against Blanco with two outs in the fifth when Will Brennan hit a single to right. In total, Blanco drew two walks and recorded three strikeouts while throwing 86 pitches.

The Guardians (92-68) made a sudden rally with one out in the eighth against Astros rookie Spencer Arrighetti, who had no trouble in the previous two innings. Arrighetti walked Brennan and Daniel Schneemann, the nine-hole hitter, before loading the bases with a walk to Steven Kwan.

Astros reliever Bryan Abreu came in and ended the threat with strikeouts from Kyle Manzardo and Jose Ramirez, preserving the 5-0 lead. Plate umpire Mark Wegner ejected Arrighetti after he was removed from the game.

The Guardians scored two runs in the ninth inning off Astros closer Josh Hader, with David Fry hitting a pinch-hit RBI double before Angel Martinez added a pinch-hit RBI groundout.

American League Central champion Cleveland remains one game behind the AL East champion New York Yankees (93-67) for the best record in the American League. Both teams have secured byes for the first round of the playoffs. Houston, the AL West champions, will be the No. 3 seed in the AL playoffs.

–Field level media