Trey Sweeney clubbed a three-run home run, Jack Flaherty tossed seven strong innings and the host Detroit Tigers silenced the Houston Astros 10-0 on Monday.
Sweeney also had a triple and scored two runs. Riley Greene blasted a two-run homer and Wenceel Perez and Colt Keith delivered solo shots.
Keith finished with three hits, two runs and two RBIs. Kerry Carpenter added a two-run triple in the opener of a three-game series.
Flaherty (7-12) allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out nine in his longest outing of the season.
Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti (1-4) gave up five runs and seven hits in five innings. Christian Walker had two of Houston’s five hits.
Houston’s best chance to score against Flaherty came in the first inning. Carlos Correa had a one-out double and moved to third on Jose Altuve’s bunt single. Walker drew a two-out walk but Victor Caratini flied out to leave the bases loaded.
Detroit loaded the bases with no outs in the second. Spencer Torkelson walked, Perez was hit by a pitch and Dillon Dingler hit a long single off the left field wall. Sweeney then struck out and Arrighetti induced Javier Baez to bounce into a double play.
Perez broke the deadlock in the fourth during a 10-pitch at-bat. He just missed a homer on a foul ball before smashing an Arrighetti cutter over the right-center-field wall. Perez became the ninth Tigers player to reach double digits in homers.
The Tigers extended their lead to 5-0 in the fifth. Keith banged a one-out double off the wall and Gleyber Torres walked. Then, in consecutive one-pitch at-bats, Carpenter ripped a triple to right to bring home both runners and Greene clobbered his 29th homer to right-center.
Sweeney had a leadoff triple the next inning and scored on Keith’s sacrifice fly to make it 6-0.
Detroit scored three more runs off Tayler Scott in the seventh. Torkelson and Dingler reached on singles before Sweeney ambushed a splitter for a 9-0 lead. Keith followed with another homer.
–Field Level Media
