April 16, 2016
Tigers 5, Astros 3
W – Verlander (1-1)
L – McHugh (1-2)
S – Rodriguez (3)
On Friday night the Astros scored early and the bats largely went to sleep, but the team still held on for the win. They scored early again on Saturday and the bats went to sleep again, but this time the pitching didn’t hold up. Collin McHugh started out well but faltered in the middle innings, and the Astros lost 5-3.
George Springer started the scoring with a two-run bullet off the left field foul pole to get out to a 2-0 lead. Three batters later, Tyler White deposited a solo shot into the back rows of the Crawford Boxes to make it 3-0. The bats sprinkled a few hits here and there in the remaining innings, but a couple of inning-ending double plays kept any Astros scoring threats at bay.
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers racked up 15 friggin’ hits on Astros pitching, ten of which came with McHugh on the mound. They scored their first run in the 2nd when Victor Martinez scored from 2nd on a double to left-center by Nick Castellanos. The ball apparently got stuck behind the padding on the fence and Castellanos tried to stretch it into a triple, but a strong throw by Colby Rasmus and an excellent relay from Carlos Correa nailed him at third.
The Tigers added cut the score to 3-2 in the 5th when a throw from third got past White at first base, allowing Jose Iglesias to score from second. Jarrod Saltalkmodsakocjkfjdf drove a two-run homer to right in the 6th, giving the Tigers a 4-3 lead. McHugh left the game after the next at-bat. Pat Neshek closed out the 6th and Ken Giles and Will Harris each threw a scoreless inning in relief. Giles’s scoreless outing drops his ERA into single digits. Josh Fields allowed another run in the top of the 9th.
Despite giving up 15 hits, Astros pitching also struck out 12 Tigers. Weird game.