The Detroit Tigers activated All-Star first baseman Miguel Cabrera on Friday, but his presence was not enough to hold off the Houston Astros. Jose Altuve tied the game at 1-all with an RBI groundout.
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“It’s very important to have them here to let them know that we want to do the same thing now”. The Tigers are five games behind in the race for the second AL wild-card spot.
Starting pitcher Alfredo Simon allowed six hits and four runs while striking out two over 5.0 innings to take the loss and fall to 10-7 for the season.
With the win, the Astros improved to 39-18 at home for the best home winning percentage (.684) in the American League. Manager A.J. Hinch mentioned in the postgame press conference that Dallas seemed in control of the game all night.
Keuchel bounced back after tying a season-high with 10 hits in a loss to Oakland last week.
Right-hander Danny Darwin won 13 consecutive decisions between the 1989 and 1990 seasons at the Astrodome.
However, in four of his last six starts, the former MVP has allowed one run, or less.
Home is where the Astros need to do their damage since they struggle so much away from Houston. “This is where we have a better record, and we need to take advantage of that”. He finished 0 for 3 with a pair of strikeouts and a walk.
But then the fifth inning came along. Altuve was initially called out, but the call was was overturned following a one-minute review. Rookie Carlos Correa walked with two outs and stole second base before Lowrie’s double that scored two.
The Tigers countered with their own threat. He had retired nine of the first 10 batters before Ian Kinsler singled to start the fourth inning.
The Tigers only had two baserunners after the fifth.
Gonzalez led off the bottom of the fifth with a single through the left side. Jason Castro doubled Gonzalez to third.
Keuchel struck out eight in seven solid innings and Jed Lowrie powered the offense with a two-RBI double to lead the Astros to the victory.
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The Tigers and Astros were still playing at that time, roughly at the end of the seventh inning, start of the eighth. Chris Carter, who pinch-hit for DH Luis Valbuena in the sixth, doubled down the left field line to score Marisnick and put Houston up 5-1. It’s obviously a big weekend with the 2005 team here. Need we say more?
