Centeno has impact as McCullers wins again
At midday, pitcher Lance McCullers’ right hand held center stage in the Astros’ universe, courtesy of a Sports Illustrated online cover story depicting his grip as emblematic of the power and mystery of a well-placed curveball.
But when the final out was recorded Tuesday night, McCullers was happy to share the limelight with catcher Juan Centeno, who in his first game action in a Houston uniform had two hits, including a solo home run, in the Astros’ 6-2 win over the Tigers at Minute Maid Park.
“Wasn’t that a great night for him?” said manager A.J. Hinch. “You always joke with the catchers — catch a winner, get some hits — and he did both. … Fun night. He should be proud of his effort.”
Centeno, who joined the roster Sunday from Class AAA Fresno when Brian McCann went on the concussion disabled list, had just three home runs in portions of four major league seasons but parked his first homer in an Astros uniform on the Home Run Porch in left center as the Astros built an early lead for McCullers.
Centeno also had a seventh-inning single and scored his second run on one of three Detroit errors, and he was handed the first intentional walk of his career in the eighth.
“Awesome,” Centeno said. “I’ve been working as hard as I
can to come back up and to help the team as much as I can. It’s a great group of guys, so I did my best.”
Behind the plate, he and McCullers (5-1) clicked effectively, and he helped reliever Luke Gregerson out of a potential seventh-inning jam by pouncing on a dribbler in front of the plate and throwing out Jose Iglesias to end the inning.
As for McCullers, while Sports Illustrated’s cover shows his curveball grip, he said it was his changeup and sinker that carried him on a night when the Tigers waited him out through 96 pitches in five innings. He had five strikeouts with two walks and allowed one hit before giving way to four relievers who allowed three hits and two runs.
“Probably the best sinker-changeup combo I’ve had up to this point,” he said. “Early on, my curveball was a little bit erratic, so I had to figure it out. They had a couple of batters who cost me a lot of pitches, so I got the early hook.”
McCullers, who extended his scoreless streak to 22 innings, and Centeno had never worked together but watched videos Monday and Tuesday to prepare for the start.
“He (Centeno) was amazing, man,” McCullers said. “We talked about body placement, glove placement. He was great out there. We were on the same page a lot.”
The Astros staked McCullers to a lead on Yuli Gurriel’s line-drive homer to left center in the second inning and Centeno’s blast to left center, just above the 404-foot sign, in the fourth.
Centeno enjoyed the moment but will have to wait for the replays to see what it looked like.
“I don’t hit that many homers, so it was an awesome experience,” he said. “I never saw the ball. I just put my head down and kept running.”
The Astros’ second run came in the third. Josh Reddick drew a oneout walk from Tigers starter Jordan Zimmermann (4-3), stole second and scored when Jose Altuve’s sharp grounder skidded under the glove of third baseman Nicholas Castellanos for a two-base error.
After Detroit pulled within a run in the seventh on Mikie Mahtook’s two-run homer, the Astros responded with two in the bottom of the seventh. Centeno’s leadoff single chased Zimmermann, and Jake Marisnisk greeted reliever Alex Wilson with a base hit, one of his three on the night.
Wilson tracked down George Springer’s ground ball to the mound but threw wildly to second, allowing Centeno to score. Marisnick, who took third on the error, scored the Astros’ fifth run on Josh Reddick’s sacrifice fly.
Marisnick’s third hit accounted for Houston’s sixth run. Marwin Gonzalez doubled and dodged a bullet when he was almost caught stealing but made it back to second after Castellanos dropped the throw from catcher James McCann. Gonzalez took third on Gurriel’s fly out to right and scored on Marisnick’s hit up the middle.
Michael Feliz retired the Tigers in the sixth with two strikeouts in relief of McCullers but allowed Mahtook’s two-run homer. Gregerson got the last out of the seventh, Will Harris allowed a base hit in a scoreless eighth inning, and James Hoyt pitched a one-hit ninth.