Astros rough up Slade Cecconi, drub Guardians 9-2 in series opener

CLEVELAND — It was fitting that the Astros were in town Monday, because they were hitting rockets off Slade Cecconi all night. Cecconi didn't give the Guardians a chance in the series opener at Progressive Field, surrendering seven runs and two homers over five innings, as the right-hander's season-starting slide continued in a 9-2 loss. Cecconi's ERA stands at a hefty 6.20 in five starts. "I've been getting dragged through it a little bit, but f---, that's baseball," Cecconi said. "Got sick for a couple weeks, I've pitched in 30-degree weather twice. It's gonna make me better at the end of the day. I'm planning on playing this game for a long time and experiences like this will make me better, regardless of how I feel right now. "Obviously the emotions at the moment are a little high. I'm not thrilled with how things are going in terms of the results I've been getting and giving my a team chance to win ballgames. But I will be back to exactly who I was in spring soon." Houston hit Cecconi's first pitch of the game for a single from Carlos Correa and didn't stop there, getting a two-run homer from Christian Walker three batters later. After Cleveland tied it at 2 in the third, Cecconi allowed a leadoff homer to Isaac Paredes and a two-run single to Correa that put Houston in front 6-2 in the fourth. Paredes also homered in the ninth off Connor Brogdon. The Astros, who took an aggressive approach against Cecconi, had six runs and nine hits through four innings. "It looked like they were all coming out swinging first-pitch fastball. If you're executing, that can help you, but they jumped him pretty good tonight," manager Stephen Vogt said. "They had two homers on the first pitch. Correa had a first-pitch hit. They were hacking early on first pitches," Cecconi said. "They got on a lot of first pitches and that's what I do, I attack the strike zone early. They won in that aspect today." Despite the results, Vogt and Cecconi saw some positives from the outing. "It was good to see his (velocity) back up," Vogt said. "He came out the chute throwing 95 (mph). He's just not crispy with his other stuff. They got to him there in the fourth, but we saw a lot of good signs from Slade tonight, some things that were definitely an improvement from the last time out. So going to keep working and keep battling. "I'm not worried about Slade. I think he knows that he needs to make some adjustments and our pitching team knows the adjustments that need to be made. I would not question Slade working his backside off and making some adjustments to get back to being him." "I felt like although the scoreboard may not say it, it was a step in the right direction in terms of executing more pitches, a touch higher on the velo even when it's 30 degrees outside," Cecconi said. "I just gotta keep crisping it up. It's really close right now. We're making good strides. I'm confident we're gonna get where we need to go." The Guardians left runners on base in eight of nine innings, stranding seven over the first four. Jose Ramirez scored Cleveland's first two runs, walking and coming home on Rhys Hoskins' two-out single in the first. Ramirez doubled to lead off the third and scored the tying run on a base hit from George Valera. The Guardians chased Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti after five innings in his second start of the season. "I thought we put some good at-bats together," Vogt said. "We made him work. We got his pitch count up. We got a big two-out hit or two. We just weren't able to keep it going. I think that fourth inning took the wind out of our sails a little bit." Brayan Rocchio had a second straight three-hit game for the first time in his career, extending his career-high hitting streak to seven games and reaching base in all four of his trips to the plate. "It's just a consistent at-bat. Rokie's staying within himself. He's taking what the pitchers are giving him, taking his walks," Vogt said. "Rokie's off to a really nice start this year and it's been really fun to watch." Astros reliever AJ Blubaugh, who was born in Mansfield and attended Clear Fork High School, pitched a scoreless seventh inning, retiring Ramirez and striking out Kyle Manzardo. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @CAwesomeheimer.