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The Cleveland Guardians are 30-34 and the Houston Astros are 37-28, so a win by the Guardians would be a surprise. Even last year, when both were playoff squads, a victory by the Cleveland team would have been shocking.
Today's game was the rubber match of the series, with Cleveland having taken game one and the Astros game two.
To say a loss would have been unexpected would be a bit of an understatement, but the Guardians, led by a brilliant Shane Bieber, blanked the Astros to take the victory in the series.
Josh Bell had a three hit day as well as the Guardians held Houston to just four hits the entire game. It was a stunning performance from the defending champions, who now slip to 5.5 games back of the Texas Rangers (though the Rangers are currently trailing against the Tampa Bay Rays, so it might be moot).
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The Astros' performance has many fans surprised and upset. This is not exactly the start the defending champions were expecting, especially as they were the offseason favorite to win it all.
A 37-29 record is by no means a poor record, but it's certainly not what fans have become accustomed to for Houston. Routinely, they have the best or one of the best records in baseball.
This year, they're the eighth-best team in baseball based on wins. They're the third wild card right now in the American League, which is far from what they expected.
What's happened to the Houston Astros?
After their latest inexplicable loss, the Houston Astros are searching for answers. Right now, they're suffering a few key injuries, such as to Yordan Alvarez and Lance McCullers.
Perhaps the biggest culprit, though, is Jose Abreu. The prized offseason acquisition has been positively wretched. He is worth a startling -1.1 fWAR and has a 60 wRC+. On defense, he's recorded -2 defensive runs saved.
He's been absolutely awful and the Astros needed more from him. The deadline isn't anytime soon, but Houston may be looking for a lot of help when it arrives.
