Gattis’ triple, Tucker’s pinch HR highlight offensive surge
DETROIT — Evan Gattis mumbled something about being a speed demon after his second triple in the series.
George Springer put on a wrestling mask before he, well, launched himself into Gattis’ postgame interview.
Jose Altuve sat Sunday afternoon for the first time in 2015, and Springer got a long day started with a single. He took second on a wild pitch and scored the game’s first run. Preston Tucker, in his 13th big
league game, has two game-tying, pinch-hit home runs.
Say what you will of an erratic Astros lineup. There is potency, too, and manager A.J. Hinch is checking the right boxes as his team rolls to the dance-music beat.
In Sunday’s 10-8 victory over the Tigers, the Astros rattled off hits despite trailing early against one of the American League’s best teams. One of the two biggest blows at Comerica Park came in the seventh inning from Jason Castro, who ripped a line-drive single to right field to drive in two runs, breaking a tie at 7.
The bases were loaded and the count was full when Castro jumped on a 95 mph fastball from Detroit righthander Angel Nesbitt, putting the Astros up 9-7. Castro took the at-bat to eight pitches after falling behind 1-2 in the first three.
“Castro fouled off a couple of tougher pitches, got a pitch he could
handle,” Hinch said. “We had hit into their shift a couple different times, but with the alignment of the base runners, they couldn’t overshift the way they normally do, and that went right into the area.”
The Astros trailed 7-3 through five innings. The Tigers (26-19) were looked at as a proper test for the Astros (29-16) heading into the series, which didn’t disappoint as the Astros salvaged the final two games for a four-game split. They’re keeping up the appearance and the record of a contender.
“Just an all-around, really good win,” Hinch said as the team packed for a trip to Baltimore for three games to end this sevengame road swing.
‘Well-placed’ triple
Although the Astros lost the opener of the fourgame set with the Tigers 6-5 in 11 innings Thursday, two elements were the same Sunday.
In the first inning, the lumberjack Gattis tripled again, something he had done just once in his major league career before Thursday.
Is he faster than we realize?
“No,” Hinch said. “He’s just well-placed. Wellplaced, big outfield.”
Gattis came to the plate a double short of the cycle in the eighth inning Sunday but was walked intentionally with a man on second. He said he wanted a chance at the feat but wasn’t disappointed.
“I walked,” Gattis said jokingly. “That’s kind of more rare.”
The slugger finished with his first three-hit game of the season, pushing is average to .201. This is the first time he’s been above .200 at the end of the day since May 4.
“I don’t know, off and on,” Gattis said of how he feels at the plate. “At home was like decent, still like nothing to show for it. But here I felt better at the plate. Feel like I’m barely missing some pitches early in the series.”
The first blow in a four-run sixth inning was Gattis’ ninth homer of the year leading off, a shot that cut the Tigers’ lead to 7-4.
Then the freshest bat the Astros have sprung into action again. Rookie Tucker hit a game-tying, pinch-hit homer — just as he did in Thursday’s ninth inning.
Tucker’s three-run shot came with two outs and was a no-doubter to right that knocked Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez from the game. Tucker, 24, came off the bench to replace Jake Marisnick in the No. 9 spot.
A lefthanded batter, Tucker was almost completely down on one knee as he finished his swing, drilling the 2-1 changeup that Sanchez left down and in.
“The fact that they’re pinch-hit (homers), yeah,” Tucker said when asked if he’s surprised himself. “I don’t necessarily feel comfortable pinch hitting, but I feel like once I step into the box, I feel the same. But just the process of it, it’s something I’m not really used to.”
On Sunday, Tucker thought he got about 10 swings in the cage before it was his time to shine. He didn’t have a lot of time, but he had help.
“Gattis DH’s, so … he’s like, ‘Hey, let’s go down to the cage, hit some balls off a tee,’ ” Tucker said. “I did that. I felt ready enough to where I was loose and I could put some good swings on the ball.”
Tucker is the first player in Astros history to go deep as a pinch hitter twice in a series and the first rookie to do so in the majors since Reggie Taylor of the Reds did so in Colorado in August 2002, per Elias.
Bullpen does job
The Astros’ bullpen was strong, picking up the slack for Roberto Hernandez, who somehow lasted five innings.
Chad Qualls worked out of a first-and-third, two-out jam in the eighth ahead of Luke Gregerson’s second consecutive save in the ninth inning. Gregerson allowed a one-out solo homer to Miguel Cabrera, who’s been hot, with a 12-game hitting streak and a .413 average in that run. J.D. Martinez singled before Gregerson got the next two outs.
The outset didn’t look good for either team but was grimmer for the Astros.
Their 3-0 lead in the first inning turned to a 5-3 deficit in the bottom half.
Righthanded reliever Josh Fields made his first appearance after he took a line drive off his right knee from Anthony Gose on Thursday. He allowed a two-out double to Martinez in the seventh before striking out Yoenis Cespedes on a 96 mph fastball, which suggested