Houston — The Tigers lost another road series on Wednesday, dropping the rubber match against the Houston Astros, 4-2, at Daikin Park.
They have won just two of 13 road series this season and now come home Friday 14 games under .500. Meaning, despite a brief flurry of wins at the start of June, they find themselves farther out of contention than they were in the woebegone days of May.
“We’re not going to win every series for the rest of the year so you can’t operate like it’s a colossal downturn if you do lose a series,” manager AJ Hinch said before the game. “But if you have an opportunity to win a series, out mindset has to be take a step forward as opposed to a sidestep or a step back.”
Sidesteps, at this point, almost equal back steps.
“The urgency is heightened based on the hole that we’re in and where we are at with our win total,” Hinch said. “Winning a series means you are taking a mini-step forward, you gain a game in a three-game span. It doesn’t end the season if you don’t. But it creates more urgency in the next series.”
BOX SCORE: Astros 4, Tigers 2
The urgency is heightened also because if they don’t start stringing together some wins soon, the roster could look different after the trade deadline on Aug. 3.
The day started with the news that Gleyber Torres was going back on the injured list after he aggravated his left oblique. The Tigers were also without switch-hitting outfielder Wenceel Perez, who sustained facial injuries after a plyo band snapped during his postgame workout Tuesday night.
On the plus side, Casey Mize was back after his second IL stint (groin). But he was still shaking off some rust. His command was spotty and he didn’t have a feel for his splitter, which allowed the Astros to zone in on his slider.
He was charged with three runs in 4⅔ innings, including a solo homer to Jeremy Pena that encapsulated his day. Mize threw six pitches, the first five were outside the strike zone. Still, he had Pena down 0-2. He threw three mostly non-competitive pitches to run the count full. The sixth pitch was the first one Mize threw in the strike zone, center-cut slider, and Pena drove it into the Crawford Boxes in left.
Mize left after giving up an RBI double Yordan Alvarez in the fifth, again on a slider.
Kyle Finnegan, who had allowed just one of 21 inherited runners to score this season, gave up an RBI double to Isaac Paredes. He was clipped for a run in the sixth, too, and it would’ve been more had right fielder Kerry Carpenter not thrown a seed to the plate to cut down Jake Meyers trying to score from second on Pena’s RBI single.
Carpenter also supplied the only run off Astros starter Peter Lambert, who struck out five in seven brisk innings. Carpenter launched his 10th homer of the season with two outs in the seventh. It was the Tigers’ second hit of the game at that point.
Kevin McGonigle led off the ninth with his sixth homer. He ambushed a first-pitch sinker from lefty Josh Hader and drove it into the Crawford Boxes in left. Nine of the Tigers 13 runs scored in this series came off homers.
Insufficient.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers fall to Astros in finale, lose another road series
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Chris McCosky, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
