Cristian Javier pitched six shutout innings, Kyle Tucker hit his third homer in four games and the Houston Astros completed a season sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 2-1 win on Wednesday afternoon.
Javier (9-9) gave up two hits and struck out eight as Houston (93-50) won the three-game series and went 7-0 against Detroit (54-89) this season.
Ryan Pressly pitched the ninth for his 28th save. Alex Bregman drove in the other run for the Astros, who have won four straight.
Javier Baez’s homer accounted for Detroit’s lone run. Tigers starter Joey Wentz went four-plus innings, allowing two runs and four hits while striking out five with one walk.
The Astros had two baserunners with two out in the first as Bregman and Tucker singled. Wentz (1-2) then retired Yuli Gurriel on a grounder.
Tucker led off the fourth with his long ball over the right-field wall. Trey Mancini doubled one out later and moved up on a wild pitch. Wentz recovered by striking out Christian Vazquez and Chas McCormick.
Wentz’s day ended after he walked David Hensley to start the fifth. Will Vest replaced him and walked Jose Altuve. The runners moved up on Jeremy Pena’s sacrifice. Bregman then hit a sacrifice fly to score Hensley for a 2-0 lead.
Detroit’s Riley Greene extended his on-base streak to 20 games with a two-out, sixth-inning single. Willi Castro then flied out to deep right field.
After Javier departed, the Tigers got on the board two batters later. Baez drilled a 2-0 pitch from Bryan Abreu over the left-center field wall for his 13th homer.
With one on and two out in the eighth, Greene hit a deep fly ball to center off Ryne Stanek that McCormick caught at the wall.
Gurriel led off the ninth with a single and McCormick and Hensley drew two-out walks against Gregory Soto. Altuve hit into a fielder’s choice, leaving the Astros clinging to a one-run lead.
Baez had a two-out single off Pressly, but the Astros closer then struck out Kerry Carpenter.
–Field Level Media
