Detroit Tigers beat Houston Astros early, often in 13-5 win

HOUSTON — The Detroit Tigers found out Saturday morning.

Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander, a 19-year MLB veteran who pitched for the Tigers from 2005-2017, was scratched from the start Saturday against his former team due to neck discomfort. (Verlander expects to miss just one start.)

That pushed rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti into action a day earlier than expected.

The Tigers took advantage of the inexperienced Arrighetti — chasing him in the second inning after scoring seven runs — en route to a 13-5 victory over the Astros on Saturday in the second of three games at Minute Maid Park. The Tigers had 19 hits and five home runs, both season highs, in the eight-run victory.

Riley Greene started the offense by launching homers in the first and second innings.

The 23-year-old finished 4-for-5 with six RBIs, in the first four-hit game of his MLB career. His batting average increased from .245 to .256 as he extended his hitting streak to six games, while his OPS increased from .796 to .836.

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For the Tigers, right-hander Jack Flaherty went five scoreless innings on three hits and one walk with six strikeouts, throwing 73 pitches. He hadn’t pitched since June 4 due to lower back pain.

The Tigers (34-36) scored 10 runs in the first three innings, putting runs in double figures this early for the first time since June 2, 2017 against the Chicago White Sox. In that game, Miguel Cabrera doubled left-hander Derek Holland in the first and second innings.

Facing the Astros, the Tigers took a 2-0 lead thanks to back-to-back solo homers by Matt Vierling and Greene off Arrighetti in the first inning, both to left center.

Vierling, who has nine homers in 63 games this season, crushed a cutter for a 411-foot homer, while Greene hit a curveball for a 343-foot homer in MMP’s Crawford Boxes.

The Tigers scored six more runs in the second inning, the first five coming on Wenceel Pérez’s two-run single and Greene’s three-run homer for a 7-0 lead to chase Arrighetti since he left after four outs and 48 throws. .

This time, Greene hit Arrighetti’s changeup for a 409-foot homer to right field. He leads the Tigers with 14 home runs in 69 games this season.

The Tigers increased their lead to 8-0 against right-handed reliever Shawn Dubin when Mark Canha scored on a defensive error on Colt Keith’s ground ball at first base.

Greene, who hit 11 homers in 99 games last season, is tied with Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez for ninth in the American League with 14 homers.

Riley Greene’s RBIs

The Tigers scored two more runs in the third inning to take a 10-0 lead.

Those runs came on five straight singles against Dubin from Pérez, Vierling, Greene, Canha and Keith. Greene and Canha recorded the RBIs.

In the sixth inning, Carson Kelly – who worked as catcher for all of Flaherty’s starts – hit a solo home run off right-handed reliever Nick Hernandez to extend the Tigers’ lead to 11-0.

The Tigers took a 12-5 lead when Greene hit a four-pitch walk against right-handed reliever Rafael Montero with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning.

It was Greene’s sixth RBI in the game, a career-high and the most by a Tiger since Eric Haase drove in six runs on July 3, 2021 against the White Sox.

Keith, who finished 4 for 6 with two extra-base hits, then launched a solo home run — his third home run in the 61st game of his rookie season — to right-center field past right-handed reliever Tayler Scott in the ninth. round for a 13-5 lead.

Finally, the Astros score

It wasn’t quite a perfect game for the Tigers, as the Astros scored five runs in the seventh.

Cesar Salazar and Trey Cabbage hit back-to-back two-out RBI doubles against right-handed reliever Mason Englert, and two batters later, Chas McCormick hit a three-run homer.

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