CLEVELAND – Ronel Blanco pitched five scoreless innings and rookie Zach Dezenzo hit a home run to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night in a matchup of division winners who could meet again this postseason.

Blanco (13-6) allowed just one hit in five innings and remained undefeated in his last nine starts. He combined a three-hitter with three relievers and secured the victory for the Astros, even though they had 13 strikeouts and had 12 runners out.

“You could say he’s one of our best starters,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of Blanco, who has a 0.75 ERA in four September starts. “He helped us get to this point.”

Blanco was replaced by rookie Spencer Arrighetti, making his first career substitute appearance after 28 starts.

Arrighetti was good for two innings but walked the bases in the eighth inning. When he was lifted, the right-hander was ejected by plate umpire Mark Wegner, who didn’t appreciate him spearing the pitch bag on the mound or his words on the way out.

It was a new role for Arrighetti. He hadn’t pitched out of the bullpen since college but could be used that way in the playoffs.

“It seemed familiar, I was just a little rusty,” Arrighetti said. “I think I’ll find a better routine next time.”

Bryan Abreu came into the game and got the Astros out of the eighth round by taking out rookie Kyle Manzardo and All-Star José Ramírez.

The Guardians managed just one hit through eight innings and scored two runs in the ninth inning off Josh Hader to end the game.

Victor Caratini and Dezenzo hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning for the AL West champion Astros, who are a No. 3 seed in the playoffs and will host a wild-card series next week.

If the Astros advance, they will play in the first game of the ALDS on October 5th in Cleveland.

The Guardians are still chasing the New York Yankees for first place and home field advantage in the playoffs.

After a 7-19 record in April, Houston turned things around with a score of 80-54 – the second-best record in the majors during that period.

After Caratini’s shot from just off Eli Morgan made it 4-0, Dezenzo, who was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land earlier in the day and scored his first two goals, fired a 1-2 pitch over the center wall.

It was quite a moment for Dezenzo. He grew up a Guardians fan in Alliance, Ohio, before playing at Ohio State.

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

Guardians rookie starter Joey Cantillo allowed six hits in 3 2/3 innings.

“I just threw a lot of throws,” he said. “Just wasn’t very sharp most of the game. Deep counts. Falling back.

TRAINER ROOM

Astros: LF Yordan Alvarez (knee sprain) ran on a treadmill in Houston and Espada said the slugger is “getting better quickly.” Espada said Alvarez needs to do more to hit before being considered for Tuesday’s wild card list. “You can’t just transition from what he’s doing now to the baseball field,” Espada said. “He’s a really, really good player, but we need to check some things from him.”

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (finger blister) had a productive bullpen session on Thursday as he continues his progress from an injury that sidelined him for nearly a month. Vogt was vague about what’s next for Cobb, who has started just three times since being acquired in a trade.

NEXT

Guardians RHP Ben Lively (13-9, 3.80 ERA) will start against Justin Verlander (4-6, 5.55), who will face Cleveland for the 57th time in his career.

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