Andrew Graham gives his quick takes on the Detroit Tigers’ 8-6 loss to the Houston Astros on Saturday:
One thing I loved
Getting into a 1-2 count with the bases loaded, it really didn’t seem like Kerry Carpenter could do much more than hunt for a base hit, a few RBIs and set up Zach McKinstry for the next at bat in the bottom of the third inning.
That is how it seemed, at least. That is not, however, what happened. And boy did everyone in the stands at Comerica Park on Saturday loved what happened next: A curveball dropping on the inner half of the plate — the same spot from where Carpenter had just managed to foul off a sweeper — getting turned around and sent 390 feet into the right-field stands.
It turned an early 3-0 deficit quickly into a 4-3 lead (albeit one Detroit quickly gave up in the top of the fourth inning).
It’s also back-to-back nights with big homers for Carpenter, who helped Detroit pull out to its 8-0 victory on Friday with a two-run shot, also in the third inning.
He’s up to 12 home runs on the season, and that’s with missing some time. But what I really love about Carpenter is his knack for coming up with the big hits in a timely moment. He seems to come through time and again for the Tigers in those sorts of situations.
I don’t know if it’s something to his mental approach, the cliche “clutch gene” or just plain old luck (it’s probably some mixture of factors), but there are just not many dudes you’d rather have standing in that batters box in a leverage situation for Detroit.
One thing I didn’t
Framber Valdez has certainly had better outings. From the start on Saturday, the Astros were on him, hitting him hard in the first inning to no avail before quickly breaking through in the second.
First it was a double followed by a no-doubt home run from Cam Smith to the pull side in the top of the second inning. Then Valdez coughed up another run in the third inning after giving up a leadoff single to Jeremy Pena, who made his way around to score eventually on a double-play ball.
And after Carpenter had given Detroit its 4-3 lead, Valdez gave up another leadoff single in the top of the fourth to Yainer Diaz, who’d come around to score three batters later.
And though the Tigers weren’t exactly sterling defensively on Saturday, had the defense not made a handful of slick plays to escape some danger — see Riley Greene’s diving catch to end the second inning, for an example — things could’ve gotten ugly for Valdez.
However, credit to him for powering through and giving Detroit a healthy dose of innings and getting through the fifth and sixth clean. His final line: six innings, four runs (all earned) on eight hits and two strikeouts.
Two of Valdez’s last three starts have been against Houston. Against his former team, he’s given up 14 hits, five runs and three walks with eight strikeouts in 12 innings across those games.
Three stars
(Season total in parentheses)
Kerry Carpenter (9)
Hao-Yu Lee (8)
Riley Greene (20)
Player of the game
(Season total in parentheses)
Jeremy Peña
Next Tigers game
Game 84: Astros at Tigers, 1:40 Sunday, Detroit SportsNet, 97.1
ICYMI: Yesterday’s Tigers recap
Andrew Graham is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Game 83: One thing I loved, one thing I didn’t
Reporting by Andrew Graham, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Andrew Graham, Special to The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
