DETROIT — The Tigers have taken plenty of lumps, dealt with injuries and have been forced to make creative roster moves and lineup decisions this season. And while Detroit fell just shy of a twin bill sweep of the AL West-leading Astros on Saturday, a competitive split was still very encouraging.
Houston toted a hefty winning streak with it to Comerica Park on Thursday, then stretched that number to 11 with a decisive win in the series opener. Detroit put the kibosh on that Saturday with a Game 1 win, then took a lead all the way into the sixth inning before bowing out, 3-2, in the seven-inning nightcap at Comerica Park.
Even so, a win in Sunday’s finale would still earn the Tigers a series split against manager A.J. Hinch’s former squad — no small feat against a team that entered Saturday with the second-best win percentage (.623) in baseball.
Zack Short and Casey Mize powered the Tigers in Game 1, with the former bashing his first MLB home run and the latter limiting Houston to one run over six innings. Short, who was promoted from Triple-A to serve as Detroit’s 27th man in the split doubleheader, earned praise from both dugouts for his 2-for-2 game as well as his sharp defense at shortstop.
Mize, who’d beaten Houston on April 12 for his first Major League win, stumped the Astros again in a crucial effort that helped save the bullpen and allowed Detroit to be creative with its pitching for Game 2.
It worked nearly according to plan. Game 2 starter Wily Peralta tossed 2 2/3 frames of hitless ball before making way for Kyle Funkhouser, who plowed through the potent Astros’ lineup with a steadily climbing velocity that lived in the high 90s and earned the righty three punchouts over his 2 1/3 frames.
Meanwhile, the Tigers had quietly taken a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Nomar Mazara single and clung tightly to it as Funkhouser fanned the side in the fifth. Jonathan Schoop – who had singled in the first and scored on Mazara’s knock — doubled the lead in the fifth with a well-placed single up the left side to give the Tigers some breathing room.
The Astros — who own the best team batting average (.279) and OPS (.808) in baseball — had mustered just two hits by the time Michael Fulmer took the ball in the sixth. The veteran righty faced a tall task in the top of Houston’s order, but he overcame a leadoff double from Jose Altuve to secure a pair of quick lineouts.
Fulmer next battled the cleanup hitter, Yordan Alvarez, to a full count on six pitches until Alvarez sent the seventh into the seats to tie the game. Carlos Correa then homered on a hung sinker to give Houston its first lead of the doubleheader.