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'It's Baseball:' Guardians Stun Astros In Shocking Series Sweep
Jul 9, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana (41) and teammates celebrate after defeating the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

'It's Baseball:' Guardians Stun Astros In Shocking Series Sweep

Originally posted on Cleveland Guardians on SI
By Tommy Wild  |  Last updated Jul 10, 2025 6:00 AM ET

Baseball is a unique sport.

Sometimes everything is going a team's way, and sometimes it feels like nothing can go right.

The Cleveland Guardians have experienced just about every emotion the sport can offer over the last two weeks.

Cleveland entered its series against the Houston Astros on a 10-game losing streak, scoring just 15 runs and being shut out five times during that stretch.

On the other hand, the Astros have been one of baseball's hottest teams since June 1, boasting a team OPS of .811 (the best in baseball) over the last 30 days, with their ace set to start in the second game of the series.

All signs pointed towards a lopsided series, which it was, although it was the Guardians who convincingly won all three games, outscoring their opponent 21-13 over that stretch.

"This series was about everybody. This series was about our team," said manager Stephen Vogt.

"I thought we just played great baseball these three games. And like we said, during the 10-game stretch, there was a lot of good in there, just not the final result, which that's the most important, but really proud of our guys."

The Guardians jumped out to an early lead in Game 1, thanks to a three-run homer from Jose Ramirez. Brayan Rocchio and David Fry each tallied on a solo homer to give the Guardians much-needed run insurance.

Cleveland went on to win the series opener, which set the tone for the next two games.

One of the most shocking parts of this series was the way that the Guardians got to Hunter Brown on Tuesday night.

Brown hadn't given up five earned runs in a start all season, and had only given up six runs since June 1, but the Guardians scored six off the right-hander in 6.0 innings of work.

Then, in extra innings, Angel Martinez hit a go-ahead grand slam off Josh Hader, who is still considered one of the best closers in MLB.

The story of the sweep-clinching win was Slade Cecconi, who set a new career high with nine strikeouts in his 7.0-inning outing.

Cleveland's skipper has been around baseball enough to know that sometimes you can't describe everything that transpires on a field, including a 10-game losing streak followed by a series sweep against one of baseball's best teams.

"It's baseball. There is no explanation for it," said Vogt after Wednesday's win.

"You go through stretches where you're playing really well, [and] you go through stretches where nothing's going your way, and that's why you just have to stay consistent, stay the course. We still have a lot of work to do. We know that. We have a lot of ground to make up, but we can only do it one day at a time."

Now, the Guardians will look to keep this momentum up as they fly to Chicago to take on their division rival, the White Sox, for a four-game set.

Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage


This article first appeared on Cleveland Guardians on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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