HOUSTON (AP) - Houston’s win over Detroit on was tempered by news that shortstop Carlos Correa and starter Aaron Sanchez are both heading to the injured list.
George Springer, Jose Altuve and Martín Maldonado homered to lead the Astros to a 6-3 victory Tuesday night before manager A.J. Hinch announced the impending moves.
Their early offensive surge against Spencer Turnbull (3-12) came on a night Sanchez didn’t get out of the third inning. He allowed four hits and three runs with two walks in a season-low 2 1/3 innings in his fourth start since a trade from Toronto. The team didn’t say he was injured during the game, but Hinch said afterward that Sanchez had been dealing with a sore pectoral muscle for some time and that he would be placed on the injured list Wednesday.
“He didn’t look like himself and the reason I took him out was I saw a little decline in (velocity),” Hinch said. “He started going to his breaking ball all the time. We want him to throw more breaking balls, but it looked like he was just trying to spin the ball in there.”
Sanchez said he’s been experiencing soreness in his pectoral muscle for six or seven starts and that he’d been trying to work through it.
“It’s kind of been up and down and obviously today when my (velocity) drops the way it did, there’s no sense in trying to push through it,” he said. “Especially knowing where this team is going, and I want to be a part of that down the stretch. So the best bet is just to figure out what’s going on and work from there.”
Correa will also be placed on the IL Wednesday after leaving Monday night’s game after the first inning with back discomfort. It will be the second stint on the IL this season for Correa, who missed two months earlier this season after his rib was fractured during a massage.
Brad Peacock (7-6) took over for Sanchez and struck out three in 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Collin McHugh, Joe Smith and Ryan Pressly combined to pitch four scoreless frames before Roberto Osuna collected his 29th save in 34 opportunities with a perfect ninth.
Turnbull allowed six hits and five runs in three innings, losing his eighth straight decision.
Victor Reyes hit his first career leadoff homer for the Tigers.
The Astros tied it up when Springer went deep for his 10th leadoff homer this season. That’s a franchise record, eclipsing the nine Springer hit in 2017. Three pitches later, Altuve launched a homer into the right-field seats.
“When we start the game with two homers that’s a great start, and George and Jose both jump-started us a bit,” Hinch said. “We don’t have to rely on the homer. I think that’s one of the beauties of this offense. But when we do homer everybody loves it. It’s part of our identity. It’s not our entire identity as an offense.”
Altuve had a two-out RBI single in the second, and Michael Brantley followed with a two-run double that made it 5-1, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
Miguel Cabrera drew a bases-loaded walk in the third against Sanchez, who was lifted one batter later. Peacock allowed Dawel Lugo’s RBI fielder’s choice to make it 5-3, but the Tigers couldn’t draw closer.
Maldonado homered to left-center in the fifth.
It was the second straight night the Tigers lost despite finishing with more hits than Houston. Detroit had 10 hits, but was 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left nine batters stranded as the team dropped its fourth straight.
“Turnbull was all over the place, misfiring. … There was a lot of traffic out there, and before you know it, it kind of took us out of our flow of offense because we were playing so much defense,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “And that’s what normally happens.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: RHP Josh James (right shoulder soreness) is improving and could begin a rehabilitation assignment soon. Hinch said James, who has been out since July 23, likely won’t rejoin the team until September.
HE SAID IT
Turnbull on giving up consecutive homers to start the game: “It was definitely a jolt. Definitely really frustrating. I was like … ’That’s not how I want to start the game off.’ But I tried to shake it off as quick as I could.”
UP NEXT
Tigers: LHP Daniel Norris (3-10, 4.82 ERA) is scheduled to start for Detroit on Wednesday.
Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (15-4, 2.81) will make his fourth career start against his former team on Wednesday night. Verlander, who spent 13 seasons with the Tigers before a trade to Houston in August 2017, struck out 11 for his sixth straight game with 10 or more strikeouts in his last start but did not factor in the decision in a 3-2 loss to Oakland.
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