Detroit Tigers Demolish the Houston Astros

After sweeping the Red Sox in three games at Fenway, the Detroit Tigers used their day off to get their bats going in a 14-6 win over Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros on a beautiful night at Comerica Park.

After a two-run lead in the top of the first after an Altuve home run, the game looked like it was going to be all Houston. But, oh no. Not tonight. The Tigers took batting practice off of Astros pitching.

By the end of the first inning, the game was tied at two after some early hitting by Ian Kinsler (of course) and Cameron Maybin along with a sac-fly by Miguel Cabrera and a line-drive by Nick Castellanos.

Then, the second inning arrived and, we, the fans got to see some amazing at-bats. After Jarrod Saltalamacchia grounded out, the Tigers bats got going. So much so that the team batted around. With one out, the Tigers started playing some small ball, with base hits getting Jose Iglesias and Kinsler on base. Then Maybin hit a beautiful double to right field, earning two RBIs as his reward. Cabrera singled, scoring Maybin.

There were two highlights of the inning. The first was the base that Miggy was able to steal on a wild pitch. After stealing the base, he scored a run after Castellanos singled. Justin Upton singled. Then, the second highlight of the game arrived when Tyler Collins hit a three-run home run that scored Casty and J-Up. Salty ended the inning with final out.

The rest of the game continued on with Salty earning an RBI scoring Tyler Collins, J-Up hitting a home run off the left-field foul pole, and James McCann hitting a bomb to left-center that traveled over 458 feet.

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The Tigers have been a strange team in 2016. After losing some sad games to the Minnesota Twins and the pair of losses on Sunday to the White Sox, this was certainly a joy to watch. Games like this against a good team and a sweep against the Red Sox are what makes fans so frustrated. The Tigers come to play against the good teams, but they have difficulties against the weaker ones.

Hopefully, these four wins in a row will continue and carry over into the games against the Indians. At this point, the Tigers are 1.5 games back from the last Wild Card spot and they are 4.5 games below the Indians.

This rush of wins just before the Trade Deadline makes is difficult for fans and the pundits to know what to expect. The Tigers are a good team – minus a few weak spots on the bench and in the bullpen – so honestly, they could stand pat at the Deadline and probably be ok. But, the consistent inconsistency could keep them out of the playoffs. So, do they sell off some of their valuable prospects to close the battle against teams like the Indians, who will most likely do some of their own buying? Is winning now worth selling off later? And, would the Tigers even have a chance against the Chicago Cubs (who we all know will make it to the World Series this year)?

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In reality, the Tigers could use a pitcher or two and possibly even a catcher with a better bat, but if they do nothing, there is no reason for fans to be disappointed. It is clear that the team – just the way it is – is a good team that can provide seriously fun entertainment and quality wins.