Tatsuya Imai rebounded from one of the worst starts of his career to turn in one of his best, striking out a career-high 11 batters in six innings to lead the Astros to a 9-3 victory, their third in a row, over the Guardians on Friday night at Daikin Park. Imai, who recorded just two outs in his previous start a week earlier at Kansas City, retired the final 11 batters he faced after allowing a two-run homer to Rhys Hoskins in the third inning. He set a career-high with 20 missed swings, including 17 with his slider, and allowed six hits and three runs. The 11 strikeouts without a walk are the most by a Houston pitcher since Yusei Kikuchi struck out 12 without a walk on August 31, 2024 against the Royals. The Astros (36-41) are five games under .500 for the first time since going 8-13 on April 17. They have gone 17-11 since May 19, winning five of their last seven games. Hoskins’ home run put Cleveland up 3-1, but Jeremy Peña hit a solo homer in the third inning, and José Altuve welcomed reliever Matt Festa with a three-run homer on his first pitch in the sixth inning, a line drive that landed in the Crawford Boxes and put the Astros up 5-3. Pena, who was 3 for 5, led off the seventh inning with a home run off Daniel Espino, and Altuve added an RBI double later in the same inning. The Astros had prepared to use Mike Burrows, who was sent to the bullpen after making a team-high 14 starts, to relieve Imai. He didn’t pitch until the ninth inning, after left-handed reliever Steven Okert retired all six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth. Imai tied his season high by pitching six innings, striking 57 of 89 pitches.
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