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Thursday, Jul. 13 7:05pm ET
Astros lose 18th of their past 24 | |||||
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GAME LOG
DETROIT (AP) -- Dean Palmer hardly is a noted singles hitter. After a recent 0-for-12 slump, he was happy with anything he could get. Palmer hit three run-scoring singles as Detroit beat Houston 8-2 Thursday night, the Tigers' first win in seven meetings with the Astros the past three seasons. Rich Becker hit two doubles and scored three runs for the Tigers, 0-6 against the Astros in interleague play in 1998 and 1999. Palmer batted just .200 (8-for-40) with an 0-for-12 skid during a nine-game road trip that preceded the All-Star break. So he came back and took some extra batting practice before the game. "I hit early," Palmer said. "I've felt bad the last week and straightened it out a little bit." Palmer keyed a 12-hit attack that helped keep Detroit on its recent roll. The Tigers have won seven of 10 overall and 12 of 18. "We're playing confidently," Palmer said. "We're coming to the ballpark feeling like we have a chance to win." At the very least, the Tigers are playing more like the club manager Phil Garner thought he had coming out of spring training. Not the one that started 5-17 and 9-23. "We're more in line with what I thought we could do," Garner said. "Our pitching is middle of the pack, and that's where I thought we'd be. Our offense is starting to do things I thought it could do. On balance I see us coming to the ballpark expecting good things to happen." Houston -- the worst team in the major leagues at 30-58 -- has lost five of seven and 18 of 24. "I hate to see that in the first game of the second half," Astros manager Larry Dierker said. "If we'd have come out and won the game, we might get the feeling we're ready to get going again." Brian Moehler (6-5) gave up 11 hits in his first complete game since last Aug. 30 against Texas. Helped by three double plays, he won for the fifth time in seven decisions. "I wasn't fooling them by any means," Moehler said. "But you make a pitch when you have to and I felt like I did tonight." Moehler is 4-1 with a 3.04 ERA in seven starts at Comerica Park. "I wouldn't say it was his best outing," Garner said, "but he got a couple of double plays early and we were able to put some runs on the board for him." Shane Reynolds (6-6) lasted just 51 pitches and 3 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs and seven hits. "I don't know if I've ever seen Shane get hit that hard," Dierker said. "He didn't give up home runs, but practically everyone that came up hit the ball hard. That's not him. He had a real long rest. Maybe he was just not sharp with his control." Reynolds lost his third straight decision and hasn't won in five starts since beating Colorado on June 13. "I felt fine," Reynolds said. "I've been throwing off the mound every single day since my last start just trying to find the right feeling, the right arm slot. I thought my stride was too long. Maybe I was out there thinking about the stride and striding too far instead of just throwing the ball." Luis Polonia singled leading off the first and scored on a double by Becker, who came home on Palmer's single. Palmer hit another RBI single in the third after consecutive walks to Becker and Bobby Higginson. Daryle Ward's run-scoring single pulled the Astros to 3-1 in the fourth after Richard Hidalgo reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and moved up on shortstop Deivi Cruz's fielding error. Detroit chased Reynolds in a four-run, five-hit fourth that included another RBI single from Palmer, a run-scoring single from Higginson and Polonia's sacrifice fly. Another run scored on right fielder Lance Berkman's fielding error. "They came out swinging real aggressive and they put the bat on the ball real well and hit the ball well," Houston's Craig Biggio said. "It's just one of those nights where we just got beat." Houston added a run in the eighth on Hidalgo's RBI forceout. The Tigers answered back in the bottom of the inning with Polonia's second sacrifice fly. Game notesBerkman had a nightmarish fourth inning. He was thrown out at home by Palmer while trying to score on Hidalgo's grounder to third in the top of the inning, then overran Juan Encarnacion's single for an error and missed a diving attempt on Deivi Cruz's single in the bottom half. ... Houston's Jeff Bagwell was 0-for-3 with a walk, ending a 10-game hitting streak. ... The Tigers are 7-6 and the Astros 4-6 in interleague play. ... Reynolds lost for the second time in six road decisions. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Houston Clubhouse Detroit Clubhouse RECAPS San Diego 2 Seattle 1
Detroit 8
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