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Detroit — All the Tigers needed was one more out in the top of the eighth inning. It didn’t come before the game got away.
Leading the visiting Houston Astros by a run, reliever Will Vest had entered to pitch for Detroit to begin the eighth inning. He gave up a leadoff single, but got the next two batters to strikeout, an out away from getting Detroit back in the dugout with three outs to get for a win.
Instead, Vest gave up back-to-back singles, the latter of which tied the game as center fielder James Outman misplayed the ball on the outfield grass, evidently sped up thinking about a throw home. Runners advanced to second and third base on that error, and they then scored on an Isaac Paredes double down the right-field line. Suddenly, Detroit trailed by two as Vest gave up a trio of two-out runs.
And that margin held until the end at Comerica Park on Saturday as Detroit lost to Houston, 8-6, in a back-and-forth offensive game. Houston scored the first three runs, Detroit responded with a grand slam, then the teams traded runs until the Astros seized the lead late against Vest. The teams combined for 26 hits, nine of them for extra bases, including three home runs.
Things looked bleak for Detroit in the early going, as starter Framber Valdez gave up a number of hard-hit balls across the early innings against his former team.
The nadir of that spell were back-to-back hits to lead off the second inning, as Christian Walker ripped a double and then came home as Cam Smith hit a full-count home run out to left field.
BOX SCORE: Astros 8, Tigers 6
That 2-0 deficit quickly became 3-0 in the top of the third inning, as Jeremy Peña led off with a single for Houston and scored two batters later.
Then along came Kerry Carpenter, stepping up with the bases loaded — Kevin McGonigle walked, Colt Keith reached on an error and Spencer Torkelson got hit by a pitch — and one out in the bottom of the third inning.
Carpenter, facing Houston starter Kai-Wei Teng, quickly got into a 1-2 hole and the chances of a heroic moment seemed to have passed.
Then Teng threw a 1-2 breaking pitch in the same spot Carpenter had just missed one for a foul ball, and Detroit’s right fielder pummeled the baseball into the right-field stands for a grand slam.
It was the third grand slam of Carpenter’s career, and his first in 2026.
Detroit only led briefly, as Houston pushed a fourth run across in the top of the fourth inning, scoring another leadoff man after he singled off Valdez to start the inning.
And Valdez nearly got into a bigger jam in that inning, putting runners on first and second base with one out before, once more, leaning on his defense to get him out of the pickle.
The third time through the order, though, Valdez found his form, putting down six batters in a row through the fifth and sixth innings before Drew Anderson took over in the seventh.
Valdez finished going six innings, giving up four earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts. And as Valdez locked in late in his outing, Detroit’s offense pushed back ahead.
Detroit retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Jake Rogers got aboard with a leadoff single, advanced to second on a two-out single by Riley Greene and scored on a Torkelson double a few pitches later.
And in the bottom of the fifth inning, rookie infielder Hao-Yu Lee got enough of a first-pitch slider out and over the plate to get it over the fence into the bullpens in left-center field. That solo home run is the third in Lee’s career so far.
Detroit seemed in position to scratch out a win in a slugfest, turning the game over to Anderson out of the bullpen in the seventh. He gave up a run, cutting the lead to 6-5, but Drew Sommers came out to replace him and managed to escape a jam with two runners on base.
Detroit had just four outs to go and a slim margin, one that quickly evaporated in the eighth inning as Houston’s offense had the final say on Saturday.
Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers cough up lead in lopsided eighth, fall to Astros in slugfest
Continue reading...
Leading the visiting Houston Astros by a run, reliever Will Vest had entered to pitch for Detroit to begin the eighth inning. He gave up a leadoff single, but got the next two batters to strikeout, an out away from getting Detroit back in the dugout with three outs to get for a win.
Instead, Vest gave up back-to-back singles, the latter of which tied the game as center fielder James Outman misplayed the ball on the outfield grass, evidently sped up thinking about a throw home. Runners advanced to second and third base on that error, and they then scored on an Isaac Paredes double down the right-field line. Suddenly, Detroit trailed by two as Vest gave up a trio of two-out runs.
And that margin held until the end at Comerica Park on Saturday as Detroit lost to Houston, 8-6, in a back-and-forth offensive game. Houston scored the first three runs, Detroit responded with a grand slam, then the teams traded runs until the Astros seized the lead late against Vest. The teams combined for 26 hits, nine of them for extra bases, including three home runs.
Things looked bleak for Detroit in the early going, as starter Framber Valdez gave up a number of hard-hit balls across the early innings against his former team.
The nadir of that spell were back-to-back hits to lead off the second inning, as Christian Walker ripped a double and then came home as Cam Smith hit a full-count home run out to left field.
BOX SCORE: Astros 8, Tigers 6
That 2-0 deficit quickly became 3-0 in the top of the third inning, as Jeremy Peña led off with a single for Houston and scored two batters later.
Then along came Kerry Carpenter, stepping up with the bases loaded — Kevin McGonigle walked, Colt Keith reached on an error and Spencer Torkelson got hit by a pitch — and one out in the bottom of the third inning.
Carpenter, facing Houston starter Kai-Wei Teng, quickly got into a 1-2 hole and the chances of a heroic moment seemed to have passed.
Then Teng threw a 1-2 breaking pitch in the same spot Carpenter had just missed one for a foul ball, and Detroit’s right fielder pummeled the baseball into the right-field stands for a grand slam.
It was the third grand slam of Carpenter’s career, and his first in 2026.
Detroit only led briefly, as Houston pushed a fourth run across in the top of the fourth inning, scoring another leadoff man after he singled off Valdez to start the inning.
And Valdez nearly got into a bigger jam in that inning, putting runners on first and second base with one out before, once more, leaning on his defense to get him out of the pickle.
The third time through the order, though, Valdez found his form, putting down six batters in a row through the fifth and sixth innings before Drew Anderson took over in the seventh.
Valdez finished going six innings, giving up four earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts. And as Valdez locked in late in his outing, Detroit’s offense pushed back ahead.
Detroit retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Jake Rogers got aboard with a leadoff single, advanced to second on a two-out single by Riley Greene and scored on a Torkelson double a few pitches later.
And in the bottom of the fifth inning, rookie infielder Hao-Yu Lee got enough of a first-pitch slider out and over the plate to get it over the fence into the bullpens in left-center field. That solo home run is the third in Lee’s career so far.
Detroit seemed in position to scratch out a win in a slugfest, turning the game over to Anderson out of the bullpen in the seventh. He gave up a run, cutting the lead to 6-5, but Drew Sommers came out to replace him and managed to escape a jam with two runners on base.
Detroit had just four outs to go and a slim margin, one that quickly evaporated in the eighth inning as Houston’s offense had the final say on Saturday.
Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers cough up lead in lopsided eighth, fall to Astros in slugfest
Continue reading...
