The Astros’ batters took advantage of a sloppy Cleveland defense in the first inning to score a run against rookie starter Joey Cantillo and opened the game with a two-out rally in the fourth inning that chased the left-hander out of the game .

Houston starter Ronel Blanco, meanwhile, looked set to become the sixth pitcher in major league history to throw multiple no-hitters in a single season. Blanco, who shut out the Blue Jays on April 1, pitched a no-hit pitch into the fifth inning before Will Brennan broke through with a two-out smash up the middle for Cleveland’s first hit.

Blanco (13-6, 2.80) won his fourth straight decision and has not lost in his last nine starts. Josh Hader allowed two runs on two hits in the ninth but held on for his 35th save. Cantillo (2-4, 4.89) lost for the first time in his last four games.

Manager Stephen Vogt said he thought Cantillo threw the ball well overall, but Houston’s game plan gave the young left-hander a run for his money.

“They took away the changeup from him early on and so he was really reliant on a fastball, slider and curveball,” Vogt said. “You have his pitch count up there. He did a good job of avoiding damage most of the time and unfortunately he ran out of throws.”

Houston’s offense outscored the Guardians 13-3. Cleveland has lost seven of its last 10 meetings against the Astros since the start of the 2023 season. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Guardians (92-68) are still one game behind the Yankees and the top seed in the AL playoffs after New York lost 4-2 to Pittsburgh.

If the Astros wanted to make a statement against the AL Central Division champions, their message was loud and clear. Any team that faces the West Division Wild Card Series champions in the postseason must earn their victories. Houston, which has reached the AL Championship Series in seven straight seasons, will not have an easy game.

The Guardians loaded the bases in the eighth inning when Astros rookie Spencer Arrighetti struck out Blanco Brennan, Daniel Schneemann and Steven Kwan, but Houston manager Joe Espada called right-hander Bryan Abreu out of the bullpen and the right-hander struck out Kyle Manzardo and José Ramírez end the threat.

Josh Naylor drew a walk against Hader to open the ninth and moved to second on a Lane Thomas basehit. Pinch-hitter David Fry then drilled an RBI double into the left field corner to get Cleveland on the scoreboard. But Hader recovered to strike out Jhonkensy Noel, and after an RBI by pinch-hitter Angel Martinez with the Guardians’ second run pushed Thomas from third, Hader retired pinch-hitter Brayan Rocchio to end the game.

Things started off on the wrong foot for Cantillo and the Guardians’ defense when Houston’s leadoff hitter Jose Altuve turned a basehit into a double in the first. Thomas’ throw from center field hit Altuve in the bag as Andrés Giménez made the tag, and the Astros All-Star was ruled out. But Espada challenged, causing the call to be overturned.

Altuve advanced to third on an infield single by Kyle Tucker when Giménez couldn’t handle a bouncing ball up the middle. He scored on Alex Bregman’s RBI sacrifice fly to give Houston a 1-0 lead.

Cantillo escaped a jam in the third when he struck out Victor Caratini and freshman Zach Dezenzo when he struck out Victor Caratini and freshman Zach Dezenzo when he had two runners in scoring position. However, he ran out of gas in the fourth when he struck out Houston’s No. 9 hitter, Grae Kessinger, with two outs before an Altuve double-put runners on second and third.

Cantillo then threw a wild pitch that bounced between the legs of Bo Naylor to the backstop as Kessinger came home for a 2-0 Houston lead. The Astros added a run on Tucker’s RBI single that made it 3-0.

Eli Morgan relieved Cantillo and delivered solo home runs to Caratini and Dezenzo in the fifth. It marked the eighth time the Astros hit back-to-back home runs in 2024 and the seventh time the Guardians allowed consecutive home runs in 2024.

The 24-year-old Dezenzo, a Canton native and Marlington High graduate, was recalled from Triple-A to the Astros on Friday and hit a home run for the second time in 18 big league games.

“I grew up in this park and saw a lot of guys like Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore and Jim Thome,” Dezenzo said. “To hit a home run here is very nostalgic for me and really, really cool.”

Ramírez, still chasing the seventh man in the 40/40 baseball club and needing two home runs to accomplish the feat, was robbed of his extra bases in the fourth by a brilliant sliding catch by Jake Myers in center field . In the sixth, he fired an Arrighetti changeup to the warning track, but the wind blowing in from right field caused the ball to fall harmlessly into Tucker’s glove. According to Statcast, the drive would have been a home run in 12 of 30 major League stadiums.

Next: The series continues Saturday with a 6:10 p.m. start at Progressive Field. Right-hander Ben Lively (13-9, 3.80) will start for Cleveland, while right-hander Justin Verlander (4-6, 5.55) takes the mound for Houston. The game will be broadcast on Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM 1100 AM, WMMS 100.7 FM, WARF 1350 AM (Spanish) and the Guardians Radio Network.