DETROIT -- Justin Verlander is probably still going to be a Detroit Tiger on Monday evening.
The Comerica Park crowd gave him a farewell just in case.
In his last start before Monday's trade deadline, Verlander (6-7) pitched six shutout innings in a 13-1 win over the Houston Astros. He gave up five singles and three walks while striking out six.
The subject of trade rumors since last winter, Verlander received a long standing ovation from the crowd of 31,970 when he walked off the mound after the sixth inning. He tipped his hat before entering the dugout.
"I didn't tip my hat when the fans did that on Monday, and I felt bad about it, because you never know what is going to happen," he said. "I wanted to get another chance to do it, just in case this is it. The fans here have always had my back and I wanted to show them I appreciated it."
It wasn't the last time the fans had a reason to cheer. The Tigers only led 3-0 when Verlander left, but scored 10 runs in the last three innings.
"It was great to see our bats come alive like that," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "We needed that."
Justin Upton matched a career best with six RBI for the Tigers, who handed the Astros their first back-to-back losses since June 12-13.
"They might be the best team in the American League, but for the last two days, we were the best team on the field," he said.
Upton had four hits, including a seventh-inning grand slam, and scored twice.
Lance McCullers Jr. (7-3), whose dad pitched for the Tigers in 1990, allowed five runs on eight hits in five-plus innings.
"I'm not where I need to be," he said. "I've gone out there the last couple times and put the team in a bad hole."
Houston first baseman Tyler White pitched the eighth, allowing a two-run homer to James McCann in his second career pitching performance.
"Our bullpen is not in a good spot right now," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "We're beat up and we're having to wear it a bit."
Verlander stranded eight batters in the first four innings, but needed 90 pitches to do it. McCullers was almost as good, only allowing one of eight runners to score and leaving the bases loaded in the fourth.
Verlander was perfect in the fifth and sixth innings, needing just 20 pitches.
"When he senses the moment, he can still dial up the velocity," Hinch said. "He still competes as well as anyone in the league, and he won some big battles with our best hitters."
Despite all the noise, Ausmus expects he'll still have Verlander on his roster on Tuesday.
"It's complex to make a trade with someone who has a no-trade clause, and we're only 24 hours from the deadline at this point," he said, adding: "Salary is always an issue."
The Tigers broke through in the second on an RBI single by Jose Iglesias. Miguel Cabrera made it 2-0 with an RBI double in the fifth, and he later scored on McCann's single.
Mikie Mahtook added an RBI double in the sixth, and Upton followed with a two-run double to put the Tigers up 6-0.
The Tigers added five runs off Tony Sipp in the seventh, including Upton's sixth career grand slam.
Alex Bregman ended the shutout with a solo homer in the ninth. Houston's streak of 60 games with a double came to an end.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: Placed RHP Will Harris back on the disabled list with continued inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Harris was activated on Friday, but had soreness after playing catch, and when the pain didn't go away on Saturday, the decision was made to put him back on the DL. LHP Reymin Guduan was recalled from Triple-A Fresno.
Tigers: 2B Ian Kinsler got a regularly scheduled day off Sunday. C James McCann caught the day game after a night game.
TIES TO COOPERSTOWN
Both teams were represented in Sunday's Hall of Fame class. Jeff Bagwell played his entire 15-year career with Houston, finishing with 2.314 hits and 449 homers, while Ivan Rodriguez was a four-time All-Star in Detroit, helping the team win the 2006 American League pennant.
CABRERA CLIMBS THE LADDER
With his two hits, Cabrera moved from 81st on the career hits list into a tie for 79th. He now has 2,605, one more than Hall of Fame shortstop Rabbit Maranville and the same number as newly inducted Hall of Famer Tim Raines. Cabrera needs 39 more hits to catch 78th-place Lave Cross, a 19th-century third baseman.
UP NEXT
Astros: Houston returns home for a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Charlie Morton (8-4, 3.83) is scheduled to face Alex Cobb in Monday's opener.
Tigers: Detroit leaves on a three-city, nine-game road trip that begins Monday at Yankee Stadium. Michael Fulmer (10-8, 3.35) will face New York's Luis Severino.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
The Comerica Park crowd gave him a farewell just in case.
In his last start before Monday's trade deadline, Verlander (6-7) pitched six shutout innings in a 13-1 win over the Houston Astros. He gave up five singles and three walks while striking out six.
The subject of trade rumors since last winter, Verlander received a long standing ovation from the crowd of 31,970 when he walked off the mound after the sixth inning. He tipped his hat before entering the dugout.
"I didn't tip my hat when the fans did that on Monday, and I felt bad about it, because you never know what is going to happen," he said. "I wanted to get another chance to do it, just in case this is it. The fans here have always had my back and I wanted to show them I appreciated it."
It wasn't the last time the fans had a reason to cheer. The Tigers only led 3-0 when Verlander left, but scored 10 runs in the last three innings.
"It was great to see our bats come alive like that," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "We needed that."
Justin Upton matched a career best with six RBI for the Tigers, who handed the Astros their first back-to-back losses since June 12-13.
"They might be the best team in the American League, but for the last two days, we were the best team on the field," he said.
Upton had four hits, including a seventh-inning grand slam, and scored twice.
Lance McCullers Jr. (7-3), whose dad pitched for the Tigers in 1990, allowed five runs on eight hits in five-plus innings.
"I'm not where I need to be," he said. "I've gone out there the last couple times and put the team in a bad hole."
Houston first baseman Tyler White pitched the eighth, allowing a two-run homer to James McCann in his second career pitching performance.
"Our bullpen is not in a good spot right now," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "We're beat up and we're having to wear it a bit."
Verlander stranded eight batters in the first four innings, but needed 90 pitches to do it. McCullers was almost as good, only allowing one of eight runners to score and leaving the bases loaded in the fourth.
Verlander was perfect in the fifth and sixth innings, needing just 20 pitches.
"When he senses the moment, he can still dial up the velocity," Hinch said. "He still competes as well as anyone in the league, and he won some big battles with our best hitters."
Despite all the noise, Ausmus expects he'll still have Verlander on his roster on Tuesday.
"It's complex to make a trade with someone who has a no-trade clause, and we're only 24 hours from the deadline at this point," he said, adding: "Salary is always an issue."
The Tigers broke through in the second on an RBI single by Jose Iglesias. Miguel Cabrera made it 2-0 with an RBI double in the fifth, and he later scored on McCann's single.
Mikie Mahtook added an RBI double in the sixth, and Upton followed with a two-run double to put the Tigers up 6-0.
The Tigers added five runs off Tony Sipp in the seventh, including Upton's sixth career grand slam.
Alex Bregman ended the shutout with a solo homer in the ninth. Houston's streak of 60 games with a double came to an end.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: Placed RHP Will Harris back on the disabled list with continued inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Harris was activated on Friday, but had soreness after playing catch, and when the pain didn't go away on Saturday, the decision was made to put him back on the DL. LHP Reymin Guduan was recalled from Triple-A Fresno.
Tigers: 2B Ian Kinsler got a regularly scheduled day off Sunday. C James McCann caught the day game after a night game.
TIES TO COOPERSTOWN
Both teams were represented in Sunday's Hall of Fame class. Jeff Bagwell played his entire 15-year career with Houston, finishing with 2.314 hits and 449 homers, while Ivan Rodriguez was a four-time All-Star in Detroit, helping the team win the 2006 American League pennant.
CABRERA CLIMBS THE LADDER
With his two hits, Cabrera moved from 81st on the career hits list into a tie for 79th. He now has 2,605, one more than Hall of Fame shortstop Rabbit Maranville and the same number as newly inducted Hall of Famer Tim Raines. Cabrera needs 39 more hits to catch 78th-place Lave Cross, a 19th-century third baseman.
UP NEXT
Astros: Houston returns home for a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Charlie Morton (8-4, 3.83) is scheduled to face Alex Cobb in Monday's opener.
Tigers: Detroit leaves on a three-city, nine-game road trip that begins Monday at Yankee Stadium. Michael Fulmer (10-8, 3.35) will face New York's Luis Severino.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
1:10PM,EDT,July 30,2017
Comerica Park, Detroit,Michigan
Comerica Park, Detroit,Michigan
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Houston - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | HOU | DET |
| Fisher struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Altuve singled to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Reddick struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Gattis grounded out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. pitching for Houston | HOU | DET |
| Machado walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Mahtook walked, Machado to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Upton popped out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Cabrera grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Mahtook out at second, Machado to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Castellanos lined out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | HOU | DET |
| González grounded out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| McCann walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Bregman popped out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| White walked, McCann to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Aoki singled to right, McCann to third, White to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Fisher grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. pitching for Houston | HOU | DET |
| Martínez struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| McCann grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Romine hit by pitch. | 0 | 0 |
| Romine to second on wild pitch by McCullers Jr.. | 0 | 0 |
| Iglesias singled to right, Romine scored. | 0 | 1 |
| Machado grounded into fielder's choice to third, Iglesias out at second. | 0 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | HOU | DET |
| Altuve reached on infield single to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Reddick singled to left center, Altuve to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Gattis struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| González popped out to second. | 0 | 1 |
| McCann fouled out to first. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. pitching for Houston | HOU | DET |
| Mahtook struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Upton singled to right. | 0 | 1 |
| Cabrera singled to deep left, Upton to third, Cabrera out stretching at second. | 0 | 1 |
| Castellanos lined out to left. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | HOU | DET |
| Bregman flied out to left. | 0 | 1 |
| White struck out looking. | 0 | 1 |
| Aoki walked. | 0 | 1 |
| Fisher singled to right, Aoki to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Altuve fouled out to left. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. pitching for Houston | HOU | DET |
| Martínez struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| McCann hit by pitch. | 0 | 1 |
| Romine struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Iglesias singled to right, McCann to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Machado safe at first on error by third baseman Bregman, McCann to third, Iglesias to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Mahtook grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Machado out at second. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | HOU | DET |
| Reddick flied out to left. | 0 | 1 |
| Gattis struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| González grounded out to first. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. pitching for Houston | HOU | DET |
| Upton reached on infield single to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Cabrera doubled to deep left, Upton scored. | 0 | 2 |
| Castellanos walked. | 0 | 2 |
| Martínez grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Castellanos out at second, Cabrera to third. | 0 | 2 |
| McCann singled to shallow center, Cabrera scored. | 0 | 3 |
| McCann to second on wild pitch by McCullers Jr.. | 0 | 3 |
| Romine grounded out to third. | 0 | 3 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Justin Verlander pitching for Detroit | HOU | DET |
| McCann lined out to right. | 0 | 3 |
| Bregman struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| White flied out to center. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. pitching for Houston | HOU | DET |
| Iglesias walked. | 0 | 3 |
| Machado singled to left, Iglesias to second. | 0 | 3 |
| Musgrove relieved McCullers Jr.. | 0 | 3 |
| Mahtook doubled to deep left, Iglesias scored, Machado to third. | 0 | 4 |
| Upton doubled to deep right center, Machado and Mahtook scored. | 0 | 6 |
| Cabrera lined out to left. | 0 | 6 |
| Castellanos struck out looking. | 0 | 6 |
| Martínez grounded out to second. | 0 | 6 |
| 3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Daniel Stumpf pitching for Detroit | HOU | DET |
| Stumpf relieved Verlander. | 0 | 6 |
| Aoki struck out looking. | 0 | 6 |
| Fisher walked. | 0 | 6 |
| Altuve grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Fisher out at second. | 0 | 6 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Tony Sipp pitching for Houston | HOU | DET |
| Marisnick in center field. | 0 | 6 |
| Sipp relieved Musgrove. | 0 | 6 |
| McCann singled to center. | 0 | 6 |
| Romine singled to shallow right, McCann to second. | 0 | 6 |
| Iglesias walked, McCann to third, Romine to second. | 0 | 6 |
| Machado hit sacrifice fly to left, McCann scored, Romine to third. | 0 | 7 |
| Mahtook walked, Iglesias to second. | 0 | 7 |
| Upton homered to right (380 feet), Romine, Iglesias and Mahtook scored. | 0 | 11 |
| Guduan relieved Sipp. | 0 | 11 |
| Adduci hit for Cabrera. | 0 | 11 |
| Adduci grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 11 |
| Castellanos struck out looking. | 0 | 11 |
| 5 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Alex Wilson pitching for Detroit | HOU | DET |
| Adduci in right field. | 0 | 11 |
| Romine at first base. | 0 | 11 |
| A. Wilson relieved Stumpf. | 0 | 11 |
| Marisnick struck out looking. | 0 | 11 |
| Gattis singled to left. | 0 | 11 |
| González grounded into fielder's choice to second, Gattis out at second. | 0 | 11 |
| McCann grounded out to second. | 0 | 11 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Detroit - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Tyler White pitching for Houston | HOU | DET |
| Gattis at first base. | 0 | 11 |
| White relieved Guduan. | 0 | 11 |
| Avila hit for Martínez. | 0 | 11 |
| Avila singled to deep left. | 0 | 11 |
| McCann homered to left (372 feet), Avila scored. | 0 | 13 |
| Romine grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 13 |
| Iglesias flied out to center. | 0 | 13 |
| Machado grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 13 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Drew VerHagen pitching for Detroit | HOU | DET |
| VerHagen relieved A. Wilson. | 0 | 13 |
| Bregman homered to left (399 feet). | 1 | 13 |
| White grounded out to second. | 1 | 13 |
| Aoki grounded out to second. | 1 | 13 |
| Fisher flied out to center. | 1 | 13 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston Astros | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Fisher LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | .278 | .366 | .500 |
| Altuve 2B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | .367 | .430 | .578 |
| Reddick CF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .306 | .348 | .494 |
Marisnick CF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .247 | .326 | .494 |
| Gattis DH-1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | .286 | .340 | .502 |
| González SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .314 | .393 | .579 |
| McCann C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | .243 | .322 | .434 |
| Bregman 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | .264 | .346 | .445 |
| White 1B-P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | .231 | .333 | .231 |
| Aoki RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | .272 | .323 | .371 |
| Totals | 33 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 150 | |||
| BATTING HR: Bregman (11, 9th inning off VerHagen 0 on, 0 Out) RBI: Bregman (31) GIDP: Altuve Astros RISP: 1-6 (Altuve 0-1, McCann 0-1, Gattis 0-1, Fisher 0-1, González 0-1, Aoki 1-1) Team LOB: 9 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Bregman (7, ground ball) DP: 1 (Altuve-González-White). Outfield Assist: Fisher (Cabrera at 2nd base). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Comerica Park, Detroit, MI |
| Attendance | 31,970 (76.9% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:26 |
| Weather | 82 degrees, sunny |
| Wind | 5 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Ramon DeJesus, First Base - Fieldin Culbreth, Second Base - CB Bucknor, Third Base - Manny Gonzalez |
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