
Peña extends hitting streak to 12 games, Gordon gets 1st win in majors as Astros beat Guardians 4-2
Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) — Jeremy Pena had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, Colton Gordon got his first major league win and the Houston Astros defeated the Cleveland Guardians 4-2 on Friday night.
Christian Walker drove in a pair of runs in the fifth inning and Brendan Rodgers added a solo shot in the sixth as the Astros improved to 3-1 on their six-game road trip.
Gordon (1-1), who was making his fifth start, allowed one run on seven hits and struck out five. The left-hander was an eighth-round pick in the 2021 amateur draft.
Josh Hader recorded his 17th save, tied for second in the American League.
David Fry homered for the Guardians, who have dropped three of four. Carlos Santana had his 14-game hitting streak snapped.
It is the second hitting streak this season of at least 10 games for Peña. The shortstop is batting .449 (22 of 49) with three home runs and six RBIs during his current run.
Houston took the lead with three runs in the fifth off Cleveland starter Logan Allen (3-4). Peña scored from second on a deep infield single by Jose Altuve and Walker drove in a pair with a base hit to right. Key moment
Cleveland had a chance to do some damage in the first inning, but Angel Martinez and Jose Ramirez were thrown out at second by Houston left fielder Mauricio Dubon when they tried to extend base hits into doubles. Dubón joined Toronto's Addison Barger as outfielders with a pair of assists in one inning this season. Key stat
Houston's struggles with the bases loaded continues. The Astros were 0 for 2 Friday night and are last in the majors with a .146 batting average. Up next
Houston RHP Hunter Brown (8-3, 1.83 ERA) is tied for the AL lead in wins. Cleveland will go with RHP Gavin Williams (5-3, 3.79 ERA).
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
recommended

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
7 minutes ago
- USA Today
Cristiano Ronaldo says he does not plan to play in FIFA Club World Cup
Cristiano Ronaldo says he does not plan to play in FIFA Club World Cup Show Caption Hide Caption Timing of FIFA Club World Cup problematic for teams across the globe Seth Vertelney explains why the timing of the FIFA Club World Cup is sounding alarms for franchises across the globe. Sports Seriously Al-Nassr and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo said on Saturday he did not plan to play at the Club World Cup in the United States, despite being courted by clubs participating in the expanded 32-team tournament. Speculation over the 40-year-old's future intensified last month when FIFA President Gianni Infantino said discussions were underway about Ronaldo playing in the Club World Cup, despite Al-Nassr failing to qualify. Al-Nassr's sporting director Fernando Hierro said last month they were negotiating with Ronaldo over a contract extension but faced competition from a host of clubs eager to sign the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. Ronaldo himself added to the uncertainty after Al-Nassr's season-ending match at Al-Fateh, posting on social media: "This chapter is over. The story? Still being written." Asked about the possibility of signing for another club in the coming days in order to play at the Club World Cup later this month, Ronaldo told reporters: "It's irrelevant, at the moment it doesn't make sense to talk about things other than the national team. "There has been plenty of contact (from clubs), I see things that make sense, others that don't. You can't go to all of them (clubs), you have to think short, medium and long term. "It's something that's practically decided on my part, which is not to go to the Club World Cup, but I've had plenty of invitations." On Wednesday, Ronaldo scored the winner as Portugal beat Germany 2-1 to go into the Nations League final, where they will face Spain. Many have labelled Sunday's final as a face-off between Ronaldo and 17-year-old Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal but the Portuguese forward said he did not see it as such. "It's always been like that, whenever I've played football, whenever I've played a big game it's always been Cristiano against this one, against that one," he said. "It's been 20-something years and it's still the same, it doesn't keep me up at night anymore, it's a normal thing. They're completely different generations, a generation that's starting out, another that's finishing, which is my case. "In reality it's not like that, it's a team against a team. It will always be like that... What I want most is for Portugal to be at a good level, confident that things can go well, that we can play a great game and win against a very good team, possibly the best in the world."


Fox Sports
18 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo is almost certain he won't play at Club World Cup
Associated Press MUNICH (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo says he's almost certain he will not be playing at the Club World Cup, dealing a blow to FIFA president Gianni Infantino's hopes of having one of soccer's biggest attractions at the tournament. The Portugal captain confirmed Saturday that he received 'quite a few' offers from participating clubs to play for them at the tournament starting June 14, but had decided against accepting any of them. 'Some things make sense to talk about, other things don't, and, as a person says, you can't take part in everything,' Ronaldo said. 'You have to think about the short, medium and long term. It's a decision practically made on my part not to go to the Club World Cup, but I've had quite a few invitations to go.' The 40-year-old soccer great was speaking in Munich a day before Portugal's Nations League final against Spain. Infantino had suggested last month that Ronaldo, who is still contracted to Saudi team Al-Nassr until the end of June, could switch to one of the 32 clubs taking part in the Club World Cup because of a unique transfer window created for the tournament. Ronaldo did little to quell that speculation when he posted ' this chapter is over ' after Al-Nassr's last Saudi Pro League game of the season. He was linked with several Club World Cup participants, including Brazil's Palmeiras. A switch to Al-Nassr's crosstown rival Al-Hilal – the one Saudi club that qualified – was also mooted as a potential solution to having Ronaldo play at the tournament, where his great rival Lionel Messi will be playing with Inter Miami. FIFA would have welcomed the boost that Ronaldo's presence could provide for ticket sales, though such a switch to a bitter local rival for a short period would be unthinkable for players in Europe's leagues. Both Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal are among the four big Saudi clubs backed by the country's Public Investment Fund, which has a 75% stake in each. On Thursday, FIFA announced PIF as an ' official partner ' of the Club World Cup. Saudi state money is also effectively funding the tournament's broadcasting deal that has largely backed its $1 billion prize fund being shared among the participants. 'This is irrelevant right now,' Ronaldo first said when asked Saturday about the Club World Cup. 'It makes no sense to talk about anything other than the national team.' Ronaldo fired Portugal into the Nations League final on Wednesday with a 2-1 win over host nation Germany. His winning goal was his record-extending 137th for Portugal. If he plays Sunday he will make his record-extending 221st national team appearance. ___ AP soccer:


USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Report: Rockets could need pay cuts to retain Jeff Green, Jae'Sean Tate, Aaron Holiday
Report: Rockets could need pay cuts to retain Jeff Green, Jae'Sean Tate, Aaron Holiday Veterans Jeff Green, Jae'Sean Tate, and Aaron Holiday might need to take paycuts in order to return to the Rockets in 2025-26, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. The Rockets will be a much more expensive team in the NBA's 2025-26 season, owing largely to salary increases for Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green. Depending on moves this offseason, Houston could be in luxury tax territory. The Rockets also have at least two younger prospects — Reed Sheppard and Cam Whitmore — that they would like to find more minutes for. With those types of considerations in mind, the 2025-26 Rockets might not have as much room in the budget for veteran players near the end of the bench. In 2024-25, Jeff Green, Jae'Sean Tate, and Aaron Holiday made $8.0 million, $7.6 million, and $4.7 million, respectively. While Houston seems to have some level of interest in retaining each of them, it might require a paycut for those players to stick around. Per Kelly Iko of The Athletic: A larger chunk of playing time for Sheppard would diminish veteran Aaron Holiday's role. Holiday emerged as a trusted option under Udoka over the past two seasons. He has a $4.9 million team option for next season, but the Rockets, who have expressed a desire to retain him, would likely wait and see how the rest of the roster pans out, along with the market, before circling back. Jeff Green and Tate, both of whom Houston is fond of, fall into a similar category. There's a possibility that only veteran minimum contracts would be available. Green recently expressed interest in a return, and Tate is a five-year NBA veteran who has only played for the Rockets over that time. All three are beloved in Houston's locker room and looked upon fondly as veteran leaders and mentors. Green was a consistent rotation player as recently as 2023-24, and Tate and Holiday had rotation stints in 2024-25. The latter two are accomplished defensively, where Houston ranked in the NBA's top five last season. So, there is definitely appeal to having them around as insurance options for head coach Ime Udoka. However, because of the changing composition of the roster around them, each might need to take a paycut in order to stick around. Time will tell if they choose to do so. The Rockets are allowed to negotiate with their own free agents as soon as the 2025 NBA Finals conclude, and negotiations with other teams and players across the league can begin on June 30. Minimum salaries are slotted according to NBA experience, though even the highest (for a player with 10+ years of experience, such as Green) is still below $4 million annually. For Green and Tate, a minimum deal would be less than half of their 2024-25 salary. More: As free agency looms, Jeff Green hopeful of re-signing with Rockets