Great start, bad finish
Collin McHugh’s sterling six innings on the mound spoiled by poor relief work in 5-3 loss.
DETROIT — After spending the first half of the season on the disabled list because of arm trouble, righthander Collin McHugh was resurgent against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night in his second start.
He left the game with a two-run lead and a chance to earn his first win since Oct. 1. Manager A.J. Hinch entrusted rookie Francis Martes, 21, a prized prospect, to preserve McHugh’s efforts. He could not.
Martes squandered the lead in the seventh and the Tigers went on to win 5-3.
In his rebound from a dead arm and shoulder tendinitis, McHugh pitched six innings, with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Tigers lefty Matthew Boyd outlasted McHugh and was more effective than the eight hits off him would suggest. The Astros ran aggressively and took advantage of Tigers’ mistakes.
The Astros won a challenge on the first call of the game, which secured Josh Reddick, who led off with an infield single. The challenge proved beneficial. With two outs, Evan Gattis hit his 11th home run to left.
Altuve’s streak ends
Gattis went 3-for-4 and was the only Astros batter with multiple hits. Jose Altuve went 0-for-4 to end his 19-game hitting streak.
The Astros opened up a 3-0 lead in the fourth. Rookie Derek Fisher tripled to drive in Carlos Beltran. Right fielder Jim Adduci appeared to misread the ball and take a shallow route, which let the ball sail over him to the wall.
McHugh looked in rhythm from the start, finishing the first inning with a strikeout. Mikie Mahtook tested McHugh in the third with a leadoff double, but McHugh stranded him.
By the fourth inning, McHugh’s confidence matched the sharpness of his curves and cutters. He struck out Justin Upton swinging at a looping breaking ball. Then, Miguel Cabrera backed out of the box on a pitch, only to watch it swerve into the strike zone. He popped to center. The next batter, Nicholas Castellanos, grounded to short.
McHugh issued his only walk with two outs in the fifth to put on Mahtook, who is batting .348 in July.
Jose Iglesias drove in Mahtook with a double to cut the Astros’ lead to 3-1.
McHugh then struck out Ian Kinsler on three pitches.
“You don’t want guys on base when their big boppers are coming up,” McHugh said. “To make a pitch there was probably my highlight of the night.
“It seems that two-out walks always score. That’s what I was mad at myself for. I got to be more aggressive with the eight-hole hitter.”
Hinch praises McHugh
McHugh finished the sixth with an efficiency that reflected his outing. He retired the batters in order. Cabrera grounded out on one pitch, the last of McHugh’s 82.
“I’m very encouraged by his command, his breaking balls, his pace, being able to control the game right up to the very end,” Hinch said.
McHugh mentioned he was on a short leash, but he supported the decision to bring in a reliever for the third time through the Tigers’ lineup.
Hinch has held the hardthrowing Martes in high regard. In his previous four appearances, Martes had struck out 10 batters in seven scoreless innings.
With the Astros ahead 3-1, Martes had two strikes on Castellanos. Gattis set up for a low-and-outside fastball, but Martes hit Castellanos with a pitch up and in. Victor Martinez followed with a single through the infield, putting runners on the corners. Martes spiked a 97 mph fastball into the dirt for a wild pitch that let Castellanos trot across home plate to tighten the score to 3-2.
Martes flashed his fastball with two clutch strikeouts, but he could not get out of the mess he created. Iglesias tied the game at 3 with a double. Reddick and Jake Marisnick got crossed up on the ball, allowing Iglesias to reach second.
“My job was to hold the game, and I didn’t do it,” Martes said. “That was the most difficult situation I had this year.”
Hinch had intended to give Chris Devenski the night off after pitching Friday, but he needed a reliable pitcher. Devenski came in to get one out but could not halt the rally. Kinsler lofted the first pitch into center for a single to score Iglesias and make it 4-3.
Wilson makes his case
In the eighth, Upton walked and then stole second with a jump on Luke Gregerson so effective Gattis didn’t make a throw. Runners have exploited Gregerson this season for not varying the timing of his delivery. All seven attempted steals on Gregerson have been successful.
Martinez drove in Upton with a two-out single to put the Tigers up 5-3.
The Astros have been rumored to be interested in Tigers lefty Justin Wilson. They got a look at him when he closed out the ninth inning for his 13th save.
A night after the Astros took advantage of a bad bullpen for a comeback win, the Tigers followed the same path. Inside the visiting coach’s office after the loss, Hinch removed his cap and slammed it into a laundry basket.