Four Astros' pitchers fire 1-hitter to blank Tigers

Houston Astros relief pitcher Brad Peacock delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Monday, May 22, 2017, in Houston.
Houston Astros relief pitcher Brad Peacock delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Monday, May 22, 2017, in Houston.

HOUSTON -- Brad Peacock and three relievers combined for a one-hitter, and Jose Altuve provided the offense with an RBI double to lead the Houston Astros to 1-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.

Peacock was solid moving out of the bullpen to make a spot start for injured ace Dallas Keuchel (Arkansas Razorbacks). In his first start since September, Peacock allowed the lone hit and struck out eight in 4⅓ innings. He was lifted after walking Tyler Collins with one out in the fifth inning.

Chris Devenski (3-2) took over and pitched 2⅔ innings for the victory before Will Harris pitched a scoreless eighth. Ken Giles struck out two in the ninth for his 12th save to allow the Astros to bounce back after being swept by the Indians over the weekend.

Detroit's only hit was a single by Mikie Mahtook with one out in the third on a night the Tigers tied a season high by striking out 14 times. The team's only baserunner after Collins was Victor Martinez, who was plunked with one out in the seventh. But Houston still faced the minimum in that inning when J.D. Martinez grounded into a double play to end the seventh.

The Astros struck early against Michael Fulmer (5-2) when George Springer drew a leadoff walk before scoring on the double by Altuve to make it 1-0 with one out in the first.

Houston got five hits combined in the second through fifth innings, but the Astros weren't able to string enough together to put Fulmer in a bind.

Marwin Gonzalez led off Houston's seventh with a bunt single before Yuli Gurriel singled to right field. But Fulmer retired the next three batters, with two strikeouts, to escape the jam and end his night.

He allowed 8 hits and 1 run while fanning 4 for his first loss since April 18.

YANKEES 4, ROYALS 2 Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner and Chris Carter homered, and host New York once again downed Jason Vargas by beating Kansas City. A reversed umpire's call in the seventh inning kept the Yankees ahead and enabled Michael Pineda (5-2) to top Vargas for the second time in a week. The Royals, with the worst record in the AL, have lost five of seven. Vargas (5-3) began the day with a 2.03 ERA, tied for second best in the majors. But the lefty fell to 0-7 lifetime against the Yankees when he was tagged by Gardner and Gregorius, the only left-handed hitters in the New York lineup.

TWINS 14, ORIOLES 7 Max Kepler homered and drove in four runs, Miguel Sano and Jorge Polanco each had a career-high four hits, and visiting Minnesota roared back to beat Baltimore. Minnesota trailed 5-0 in the second inning and 6-2 entering the fifth before cranking up the offense against Ubaldo Jimenez and an ineffective Baltimore bullpen. A two-run double by Kepler helped the Twins knot the score in the fifth, Minnesota sent 11 batters to the plate in a six-run sixth, and Sano added a two-run home run in the ninth. Joe Mauer had 3 hits, 2 RBI and scored twice for the Twins, who reached season highs in runs and hits (21). Adam Jones hit a three-run home run in the second inning off Kyle Gibson (1-4) for Baltimore.

ANGELS 3, RAYS 2 Jefry Marte scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the seventh inning to help visiting Los Angeles beat Tampa Bay. The Angels, who have won six of eight, pushed across the run without a hit in the seventh inning against Tampa Bay relievers Jumbo Diaz (0-3) and Ryne Stanek (Arkansas Razorbacks). After walking Mike Trout intentionally to load the bases with two out, Stanek threw a ball in the dirt while facing Albert Pujols, allowing Marte to score easily.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

BRAVES 5, PIRATES 2 Matt Adams hit a two-run home run in his second start since being traded to Atlanta, Ender Inciarte had a career-high five hits, and host Atlanta beat Gerrit Cole and Pittsburgh. Brandon Phillips also homered for the Braves, who have won eight of 11. Adams was acquired from St. Louis on Saturday as a fill-in for injured first baseman Freddie Freeman, who is expected to miss about 10 weeks with a broken left wrist. Adams had two hits, including his fifth-inning home run high into the right-field seats for a 5-1 lead.

GIANTS 6, CUBS 4 Joe Panik hit his first career leadoff home run and doubled twice, helping visiting San Francisco beat Chicago. Brandon Belt also connected, and Ty Blach pitched into the eighth inning in the first meeting between the teams since San Francisco was eliminated by Chicago in the NL Division Series last year. Panik, Belt and Justin Ruggiano each had two RBI as the streaking Giants won for the eighth time in 10 games. Ruggiano's leadoff drive in the eighth made it 6-0 and gave San Francisco 18 consecutive solo home runs, just three away from matching its major league record of 21 from 2011.

ROCKIES 8, PHILLIES 1 Jeff Hoffman struck out 7 and tossed 3-hit ball over 7 innings to lead visiting Colorado over Philadelphia. Hoffman (2-0) also had his first big league hit, and the National League-leading Rockies continued to cruise away from home. They are the best in the majors with a 16-7 road record and are 5-2 on this season-long 10-game road trip.

INTERLEAGUE

REDS 5, INDIANS 1 Scott Feldman struck out a season-high nine to end Cincinnati's long stretch of ineffective starts, and Scott Schebler homered for the third consecutive game, leading host Cincinnati to a victory over Cleveland. Feldman (3-4) got the first victory by a Reds starter since May 9. He gave up four hits, including Jason Kipnis' home run, while becoming the first Cincinnati starter in the past 10 games to make it through six innings. The Reds' rotation is last in the NL in ERA and innings pitched.

Sports on 05/23/2017

Upcoming Events