Tatsuya Imai threw six shutout innings to help the Houston Astros to a 2-1 win against the host Detroit Tigers in the opener of their four-game series on Thursday evening.
Imai (5-3) allowed two hits, struck out 10 and walked one to improve to 3-0 this month.
AJ Blubaugh pitched two innings of scoreless relief before Enyel De Los Santos closed the ninth, when he allowed one run, for his fifth save of the season.
Taylor Trammell homered and Jeremy Pena delivered two of the game’s 10 hits and scored a run for the Astros, who have won three in a row.
Tigers starter Troy Melton (4-1) was trying to win his fourth straight start, but the right-hander came up short after allowing just one run and one hit over six innings. He struck out six and didn’t walk a batter on 88 pitches.
Dillon Dingler homered for Detroit, which has lost three in a row.
Melton retired the first 16 batters in order, six via strikeout, before Trammell turned on a slider with one out in the sixth and pulled it just inside the right field foul pole for a 1-0 lead.
After shutout innings by Detroit relievers Kyle Finnegan and Tyler Holton, right-hander Kenley Jansen came in for the ninth and gave up a leadoff single to Pena, who stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on Isaac Paredes’ sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
Dingler homered to center off De Los Santos with one out in the ninth to cut it to 2-1, but the Astros followed with a game-ending double play.
The only baserunner allowed for either team through the first three innings was a four-pitch walk to Dingler in the second.
Tigers left fielder Riley Greene produced the first base hit of the game with a single to right with two outs in the fourth, but Imai got Colt Keith to line out to center to end the inning.
Iami got James Outman to strike out looking at a slider to end the fifth. The right-hander then had to dodge a line-drive single over the mound with one out in the sixth by Kevin McGonigle for Detroit’s second hit of the game, but bounced back to retire the No. 2 and 3 hitters.
