Angel Martinez grand slam powers Guardians past Astros in 10th inning

HOUSTON — Angel Martínez hit a grand slam off closer Josh Hader with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Cleveland Guardians to a 10-6 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night. José Ramírez and Brayan Rocchio also homered to help the Guardians beat the Astros for a second straight night after entering the series on a 10-game skid. "I feel like we've been talking about this for four weeks. I like where our group is," manager Stephen Vogt said. "We weren't getting results and obviously we still have a lot of work to do to get better, but this is why you have to stick to what you're doing. This is why you can't waver. It's only been two games, I recognize that. This group is capable of putting up great offensive numbers, and they've done it now two nights in a row and we feel really good about who we have." Out for a second inning after throwing a scoreless ninth and with a runner on starting on second, Hader (5-2) intentionally walked Ramírez before walking Carlos Santana to load the bases. Hader struck out pinch-hitter Johnathan Rodríguez before Martínez sent a sinker 344 feet, into the first row of the seats in left field to put the Guardians on top. Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase struck out one in a scoreless 10th to end it after Jakob Junis (2-1) struck out two in the ninth to earn the win. Houston scored two runs in the eighth inning, with an RBI single from Jose Altuve, to tie it. Altuve had two hits and drove in four runs, and rookie Cam Smith added three hits. Houston starter Hunter Brown, who entered with an MLB-leading 1.82 ERA, yielded six hits and a season-high six runs in six innings. There was one on with one out in the first when Ramírez homered for a second consecutive game, giving the Guardians a 2-0 lead. The Astros cut the lead to 2-1 when Isaac Paredes scored on a sacrifice fly by Altuve in the bottom of the inning. Rocchio doubled to start the third before scoring on a one-out double by Nolan Jones, making it 3-1. A two-out single by Daniel Schneemann scored two more, extending the lead to 5-1. Altuve's two-run double cut the lead to 6-3 with no outs in the fifth. Houston got within 6-4 when he scored on a sacrifice fly by Victor Caratini. Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo allowed five hits and three runs with seven strikeouts in four-plus innings. Key moment The grand slam by Martínez into the Crawford Boxes. Key stat It's the first time Cleveland has won back-to-back games since beating the Athletics June 21-22. Up next Houston LHP Brandon Walter (1-1, 4.15 ERA) opposes RHP Slade Cecconi (3-4, 3.56) when the series concludes Wednesday.