Houston is just 23-27 on the road but returns home for seven straight on Monday, welcoming two more potential playoff teams in the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers.TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), FSN DetroitPITCHING MATCHUP: Astros LH Dallas Keuchel (6-10, 4.57 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Mike Pelfrey (3-9, 4.98)Keuchel is turning his season around with seven straight quality starts and is closing out a terrific July in which he owns a 2.33 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP.
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James McCann added a solo shot in the eighth and Cameron Maybin had three hits and scored three times for the Tigers, who were coming off a three-game sweep at Fenway Park.
Collins advanced to third after McCann’s hit when left fielder Alex Bregman’s throw was offline and bounced away from catcher Evan Gattis for an error.Jose Altuve scored from third on Colby Rasmus’ fielder’s choice forceout at second with one out in the ninth to finish a two-run Houston rally that gave the Astros a 2-1 lead. And on April 15, he fell to 0-2 this season after allowing five hits and six walks – but just one run – in six innings of the 1-0 loss in Houston. The Wichita State product recorded a total of two strikeouts in 12 innings over his last three starts. In Friday’s opener, the Tigers crushed Houston 14-6, scoring a whopping seven times in the second inning.
With the Astros up 2-1, Houston closer Will Harris (1-2) retired the first two batters in the ninth but then walked Justin Upton.
“It was awesome to get that kind of offense”, Boyd said.
“This is a tough one to take, because we played so hard all night”, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.
They got one, but it only lasted a few minutes. “We got the quick 2-0 lead, and then we’re down seven after the second”. In the first, Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly and Nick Castellanos hit an RBI single.
Cameron Maybin’s two-run double put the Tigers ahead 4-2 in the second, and Cabrera followed with a run-scoring single. Castellanos beat out a two-out infield single to score Cabrera with Detroit’s sixth run.
“I believe in playing the game the right way, so I took second to let them know that I knew what was going”, he said. “That wasn’t how I envisioned this game going”. Justin Upton walked. Tyler Collins singled.
“We had to make a move”, Hinch said. “It was a bad night, but we are going to fight for all 27 outs”. Either way it was a catchable ball as Altuve seemed to have it in sight as he recovered from the stumble.NOTES: Houston INF Marwin Gonzalez was out with a bad right hand and CF Carlos Gomez has a bad hamstring. He’s expected to miss the entire weekend series in Detroit.
Tigers: RF J.D. Martinez (elbow) and RHP Jordan Zimmermann (neck) were both on rehab duty Friday with Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers are hoping to have both players back before the end of the current nine-game homestand. Anibal Sanchez (5-11, 6.56) is scheduled to start the opener against James Shields (5-12, 4.68).
Mike Pelfrey – He pitched five scoreless innings before the Tigers made a decision to give the bullpen some work before an off day.
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Brewers starter Chase Anderson lasted only five innings, allowing an unearned run on four hits and a pair of walks while striking out a season-high seven. Verlander is 3-0 in six career starts against Houston with a 2.06 ERA.
