Once again, an Astros (33-41) starter could not get through 5 innings. Tonight, Kai-Wei Teng (L, 3-6) couldn’t get out of the 4th, and an already overtaxed pen looked the part as Houston fell to the Detroit Tigers (30-42) 9-3 at Daikin Park.
This marks the 4th straight start that Teng could not get past 5 innings, and the second straight he couldn’t even get into the 5th. Teng allowed 5 ER on 6 H in 3.1 IP, walking 2 and striking out 9. He also allowed 3 HRs and hit 2 batters. Both hit batters came in the first inning, one loading the bases and the next driving in the Tigers first run.
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Teng has now allowed 6 HR in his last 17.1 IP over his last 4 outings. His velocity was also down nearly 2 MPH, as noted by Astros beat reporter Chandler Rome of the The Athletic.
Down 1-0 in the top of the 2nd, Teng allowed a 2-out HR to Kevin McGonigle. The solo shot gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the 3rd, Teng allowed a 2-run HR to Colt Keith with 2 outs, pushing the deficit to 4-0. That was immediately followed by Spencer Torkelson’s 12th HR off the season, and it was 5-0 Detroit.
Houston started to claw it’s way back in the bottom of the 3rd. With 2 out, Christian Walker drew a walk, and the Isaac Paredes launched his 10th HR of the season to make it 5-2. Jose Altuve sent the next pitch 410 feet to left-center for his 7th HR and deficit was reduced to 2, at 5-3.
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Astros manager Joe Espada wanted to get one more inning from Teng, especially with the pen being heavily taxed the last 2 games, but Teng could only get one out in the 4th before being replaced by Steven Okert.
Okert inherited runners on 1st and 2nd with one out, but got a pair of strikeouts to escape the jam unharmed.
A.J. Blubaugh was summoned for the 5th, and gave up a leadoff triple to Dillon Dingler. After a strikeout and a walk, a passed ball by Christian Vazquez allowed Dingler to score from 3rd, extending the lead to 6-3. Blubaugh would go 2 innings, allowing only the unearned run.
Astros bats would go quiet from here on out, mustering only 3 hits.
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Jayden Murray, recalled today to replace Alimber Santa (who would not have been available after working the past 2 games) allowed 2 runs in two innings of work on a 2-run HR by Colt Keith, his second of the game , to make it 8-3 Tigers.
In the 9th, Bryan Abreu allowed a solo shot by Keith, his 3rd HR of the game and 4th of the season, to account for the final score.
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Hunter Brown (1-0, 0.84 ERA) is expected to be activated to start tomorrow’s game, facing off against former teammate Framber Valdez (3-5, 4.40 ERA).
C Yainer Diaz is also expected to be activated for tomorrow’s game to catch Brown.
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Yordan Alvarez went 2×4 tonight, raising his average to .328. That leads the American League.
Isaac Paredes and Jose Altuve hit back-to-back HRs in the 3rd. Both players sat Sunday for rest.
Astros pitchers struck out a total of 18 batters tonight. It is the 3rd time in franchise history the team has lost a game in which it’s pitchers struck out 18 batters.
Teng has allowed 14 ER in his last 12.1 innings. he has allowed 4 HR, hit 4 batters, and walked 7 in that time. His ERA has risen from 2.57 to 4.31 in those 3 appearances.
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The bottom 4 hitters in the Astros lineup tonight (Trammell/Meyers, Smith, Matthews, Vazquez) combined to go 2×16 with 6 of the Astros hitters’ 10 K this evening. None of them scored or drove in a run.
