Jose Ramirez looks to keep up power surge as Guardians visit Astros

Despite hitting safely in 9 of 12 games, the Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez entered Sunday's game with the host Chicago White Sox fretting about his recent lack of power.

Those concerns were put to rest when Ramirez homered twice in the Guardians' 5-0 victory. Now they hope to build some momentum when they visit the Houston Astros on Monday to open a three-game series.

Guardians manager Terry Francona acknowledged the possibility of giving Ramirez a day off "when he starts getting frustrated," but the slugger assured him he was fine on Sunday.

"He said, ‘Nah I'm good.' Thank goodness," Francona said.

Ramirez finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs and has 18 homers on the season.

Right-hander Noah Syndergaard (1-4, 7.16 ERA) is scheduled to make his Guardians debut on Monday.

Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday in exchange for shortstop Amed Rosario, Syndergaard is winless over his last six starts, pitching to an 0-1 record with an 8.25 ERA during that stretch.

In his most recent start, Syndergaard allowed six runs on seven hits in three innings against the host Cincinnati Reds on June 7. However, he did not factor into the decision as the Dodgers lost 8-6.

Syndergaard is 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA in two career starts against the Astros, both in 2022. In the second of those two, he allowed three runs on three hits over four innings while taking a no-decision during a 6-5 loss on July 12, 2022, while pitching for the Los Angeles Angels.

Rookie right-hander J.P. France (6-3, 2.87) will oppose Syndergaard.

France limited the Texas Rangers to one unearned run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts over seven innings in a 4-3 victory on Tuesday, improving to 4-0 with a 1.72 ERA over his last five starts.

France faced the Guardians in Cleveland on June 10 and earned his second career victory after allowing three runs on seven hits and six walks with six strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.

With right-hander Brandon Bielak logging only five innings in the Astros' 8-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, it continued a season-long trend of Houston not having the bulk of its rotation work deep into games.

Excluding ace left-hander Framber Valdez and France, who has worked at least six innings in nine of his last 10 starts, Astros starters frequently leave the bullpen a significant workload.

Despite this development and a rotation gutted by season-ending injuries to right-handers Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr., Astros general manager Dana Brown said on Sunday that the club isn't necessarily targeting a starter before Tuesday's trade deadline.

The Astros are anticipating the return of Jose Urquidy, who has been sidelined since May 1 with right shoulder discomfort. Whether his addition can help offset the heavy burden on the bullpen, bolstered by the recent acquisition of reliever Kendall Graveman, remains to be seen.

"We're about to get Urquidy back, and hopefully we have enough," Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "We'll see."