Raynel Delgado delivered a two-run single in a three-run eighth inning as the Houston Astros rallied for a 4-2 victory over the visiting Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.
Delgado, who made his major league debut on Sunday, bounced a one-out single into center field off Tigers reliever Will Vest that plated Yainer Diaz and Cam Smith and erased a one-run deficit. It marked the first career RBIs for Delgado and supplied the Astros with a 3-2 lead.
Jeremy Pena followed by beating out a would-be double-play grounder that enabled Joey Loperfido, who walked as a pinch hitter ahead of Delgado, to score an insurance run. Pena was initially ruled out before a replay review overturned the call.
Astros closer Josh Hader notched his third save in the ninth. Keider Montero (3-5) took the loss.
Hao-Yu Lee helped Detroit to a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth. Lee, starting in place of injured second baseman Gleyber Torres, who departed in the second inning of the series opener, doubled and scored on a Dillon Dingler sacrifice fly off Astros left-hander Bryan King (2-1).
Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez and Astros right-hander Hunter Brown engaged in a spirited duel, although neither factored into the decision.
Valdez, who spent the previous eight seasons with the Astros before joining Detroit as a free agent during the offseason, made his first start against his former club. He delivered a vintage performance by recording nine groundball outs while carrying a shutout into the fifth inning.
Valdez stranded a pair of baserunners in scoring position in the bottom of the first, left two more runners on base in the third, and stranded Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes on base in the fifth after a Dingler passed ball enabled Delgado to score from third and knot the game at 1-1.
Valdez allowed one unearned run on six hits and three walks with six strikeouts over six innings.
Brown, making his first start after missing two-plus months with a shoulder strain, allowed an RBI single to Lee in the top of the second inning that scored Spencer Torkelson, but held the line there, allowing one run on three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
