Cleveland continues to stagger in loss to Houston

 Bad news and good news. The bad news is the Guardians got whipped by the Houston Astros 9-3 on June 19. The good news? The White Sox (39-35) lost to Detroit, 4-3, so the Guardians (40-36) and the White Sox remain tied for first place.

Tanner Bibee could not get his third straight win, and Matt Festa gave up a game-changing home run as the Guardians failed to hold on to a 3-1 lead. Rhys Hoskins hit a 2-run homer and Brayan Rocchio collected an RBI, but the offensive struggles continued

The staff at Chappie's Grave did not watch or listen to a pitch of the contest. It's noted that Houston all-star second baseman Jose Altuve tortured Cleveland pitching with a homer and double and four RBI. His 3-run home run off of Festa in the sixth gave Houston a 4-3 lead, and the Astros cruised from there. Jeremy Pena hit a pair of homers for Houston, which improved to 36-41 on the season.

Tatsya Imai dominated the listless Cleveland lineup. He struck out 11 and allowed three runs in six innings after failing to get out of the first inning of his last start.

The Guardians are 3-7 in their last 10 games and continue to trend downward.

Bibee's record dropped to 2-8 as he allowed four runs, three earned, while scattering four hits and striking out seven. On paper it appeared to be a productive start. But there is just so little room for error with the way Cleveland's offense is currently constructed.

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