Indians 2, Astros 0: Asdrubal Cabrera drove in a run and scored another while Ubaldo Jimenez tossed 6 2/3 superb innings as Cleveland kicked off its 10-game road trip with its fourth straight win in its first visit to Houston since 2001.
Shin-Soo Choo led off the game with a triple and Cabrera followed with a sacrifice fly, giving Cleveland an early 1-0 lead. But Houston starter Lucas Harrell was brilliant thereafter, retiring 11 in a row beginning with Cabrera and not allowing another hit until Johnny Damon singled with one out in the seventh.
Cabrera began the ninth with a single after a foul pop-up behind the plate was misplayed and came around to score on Michael Brantley's base hit later in the frame for a 2-0 advantage.
Jordan Schafer nearly tied the game for Houston leading off the eighth, but Choo robbed him of a home run at the wall in right field. The catch helped preserve the win for Jimenez (7-5), who allowed four hits and walked four while striking out eight as he improved to 4-0 in six career starts against the Astros.
Two relievers bridged the gap to Chris Perez, who struck out the side in the ninth for his major league-leading 23rd save in 24 opportunities.
Harrell (6-6) walked three and struck out a career-high nine over seven innings in his first loss in five decisions at home this season.
Chris Johnson recorded two of the four hits by Houston, which has lost six of seven overall and fell to 1-3 on its 10-game homestand.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Astros OF Justin Maxwell, who was listed as day-to-day with a left ankle injury, entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and drew a walk. Maxwell left Wednesday's contest with pain in his ankle, and an MRI on Thursday revealed a "loose body," which most likely is a bone chip. ... Houston manager Brad Mills' son, Beau, was traded by Cleveland to Cincinnati on Thursday. The younger Mills was hitting .197 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs with Triple-A Columbus this season. ... Indians DH Travis Hafner, who has not played since May 23 due to a right knee injury, is expected to begin running soon but still is likely to miss a few more weeks.
Cleveland | Houston | |
Ubaldo Jimenez | Player | Lucas Harrell |
Win | W/L | Loss |
6.2 | IP | 7.0 |
8 | Strikeouts | 9 |
4 | Hits | 2 |
0.00 | ERA | 1.29 |
Cleveland | Houston | |
Michael Brantley | Player | Chris Johnson |
1 | Hits | 2 |
1 | RBI | 0 |
0 | HR | 0 |
1 | TB | 2 |
.333 | Avg | .500 |