Coming off a strong series against the Baltimore Orioles, the Cleveland Guardians looked like a team with some momentum building at Progressive Field. Then Monday night happened.
The Houston Astros came into Cleveland carrying a four-game losing streak, sitting at 8-15, and missing a chunk of their starting rotation. On paper, this was the kind of opponent the Guardians should handle at home. Instead, Houston walked out of Progressive Field with a convincing 9-2 victory, and the story of the night was a Guardians starter who simply could not get out of his own way.
Not our day.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/d55emJN4Mj
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 21, 2026
Slade Cecconi took the ball and immediately ran into trouble. The right-hander lasted just five innings, allowing seven runs, six of them earned, on 10 hits and two walks. He struck out just three batters and never found a rhythm against an Astros lineup that came in as the top-scoring offense in the American League. Cecconi falls to 0-3 on the season with a 6.20 ERA, and his last two starts have produced a combined line of 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA across nine innings, with seven walks and 13 hits surrendered.
Cleveland did show some life early. Jose Ramirez drew a two-out walk in the first and came around to score on a Rhys Hoskins single to tie things at 1-1. In the third, Ramirez led off with a double, moved to third on a Kyle Manzardo grounder, and scored on a George Valera single to right to knot it at 2-2. But the Guardians could not sustain it. Houston erupted for four runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-2 lead and never looked back.
Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti picked up the win, going five innings and allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out three. He is now 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in three career appearances against Cleveland.
The one bright spot in the Guardians lineup was Brayan Rocchio, who picked up his second consecutive three-hit game. His second-inning single extended his hitting streak to seven straight games, a quiet but consistent stretch of production from Cleveland’s young shortstop.
The series continues Tuesday night at Progressive Field. Left-hander Parker Messick, who has been among the best pitchers in baseball this season at 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA, gets the ball for Cleveland against Houston’s Ryan Weiss, who comes in at 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA.
Monday night was a rough one. But if there is a game you want to follow it up with, sending Messick to the mound is a pretty good answer.
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