Outfielder breaks tie in eighth inning with decisive home run
Jake Marisnick made his introduction to Thursday night’s game as a pinch runner for Nori Aoki in the sixth inning.
He made his presence well known with a go-ahead blast in the eighth. Marisnick’s solo shot off Detroit Tigers reliever Alex Wilson propelled the Astros to a 7-6 win at Minute Maid Park.
The outfielder long known for his defense continues to produce at the plate and this time bailed out a bullpen that coughed up a late lead and starter Mike Fiers, whose struggles might soon reach a breaking point. Marisnick’s homer was his fifth of the season and traveled 421 feet, landing slightly to the left of the batter’s eye. He’s slugging .559 in 66 plate appearances on the season. “I think he’s finally connected with his swing,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “His timing is better, his alignment’s better, and his direction’s better. “Obviously, his pitch selection’s gotten a little bit better. “Everything across the board has taken a step forward. He’s using his athleticism. He’s using his
strength. I love the fact that these balls are going out to center field.
“I think that’s a key part of this because of just how he’s connected in his swing.”
Marisnick attributed being consistent with his work and the “melting pot” of teammates with whom to talk hitting as reasons for his improved production.
“It’s felt good,” he said.
Giles earns save
Ken Giles converted the save after Marisnick’s homer for the Astros (3216), who had a two-run lead after six innings.
Will Harris allowed a solo home run to Justin Upton in the seventh, and Luke Gregerson, pitching the eighth because Chris Devenski was not available, allowed a run on a leadoff walk and a double in the eighth.
Three innings into the game, the Astros’ offense appeared destined for a long night.
Righthander Justin Verlander has had their number, and the Tigers ace needed only 32 pitches to record his first nine outs.
Yet come the fourth, the Astros teed off. They launched three home runs in a five-run inning that fueled their scoring for the evening.
The barrage off the former Cy Young Award winner helped them overcome another poor start from Fiers, who has a 5.40 ERA.
The Astros scored six runs off Verlander, who had held them to three or fewer runs in each of their seven previous meetings. They sent eight batters to the plate in the pivotal fourth, only the second inning in Verlander’s 13-year career in which he served up three homers.
By the time Verlander recorded his first out in the fourth, the Astros had scored four runs.
Carlos Correa and Marwin Gonzalez each belted two-run shots. Third-string catcher Juan Centeno, who has five major league home runs, smacked his second in as many starts this week.
Verlander exhausted 35 pitches in the inning yet completed 52⁄3 innings.
The Astros bumped up his ERA to 4.87.
Altuve’s good at-bat
“We tried to ambush him early, which is dangerous,” Hinch said. “You go one way or the other way with him. If you wait him out, he gets a little bit stronger.
“Honestly, I think the inning started with a really hard-earned walk by (Jose) Altuve, and I think that set the tone for really good atbats in a row.”
The fourth-inning onslaught ensured Fiers could not lose despite completing only 42⁄3 innings.
The Astros’ beleaguered No. 5 starter gave up 10 hits, four for extra bases, including a 430-foot homer and a 400-foot double to ex-Astro J.D. Martinez, his close friend and college teammate at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Martinez heats up
Martinez’s homer, already his seventh in just 12 games since returning from a right foot sprain, cleared the train tracks well above the left-center field fence at Minute Maid Park.
His double came inches away from tying the game at 5 in the top of the fifth.
Fiers has allowed a major league-worst 18 home runs in just 462⁄3 innings. He has maintained his spot in the rotation only because of the Astros’ lack of an alternative.
But after Brad Peacock pitched 41⁄3 dominant innings in a spot start Monday night versus the Tigers, the team might consider him as a viable option over Fiers or Joe Musgrove (5.63 ERA).
After Martinez’s double in Thursday’s fifth inning, Michael Feliz inherited runners on second and third base with two outs and a 5-3 lead. He surrendered a single to Upton that halved the lead but worked around a walk that loaded the bases by inducing an infield pop out from Dixon Machado.
Feliz gave the Astros another inning to bridge the gap to Harris, who gave up a line drive into the Crawford Boxes to Upton.
In the eighth, Gregerson jumped ahead of Andrew Romine, no balls to two strikes, before issuing a leadoff walk. Romine promptly stole second base and scored the game-tying run on a Jose Iglesias single.
But the tie was short lived, thanks to Marisnick’s homer.