DETROIT -- The Tigers are roaring again. On Monday, they rolled over their closest competitor in the race for a postseason first-round bye, using home runs from Wenceel Pérez, Riley Greene, Trey Sweeney and Colt Keith to support starter Jack Flaherty over seven scoreless innings for a 10-0 win over the Astros to begin a three-game series at Comerica Park.
The Tigers’ fifth win in their past six games opened up a four-game gap between them (74-53) and the Astros (69-56) for the American League’s No. 2 seed. It also ensured at least an 8 1/2-game lead for Detroit in the AL Central over Cleveland, which opens a series at Arizona later Monday night.
The prelude to Tuesday’s highly anticipated matchup between reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and Detroit native Hunter Brown turned out to be no contest. Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti kept pace with Flaherty for a few innings, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out threat in the second, but Pérez’s 10-pitch battle in the fourth inning provided a breakthrough with his 10th home run of the season.
Six consecutive runners reached base safely off Arrighetti in a four-run fifth inning that turned a pitching duel into a runaway. Kerry Carpenter tripled in two runs to continue his August tear before Greene sent Arrighetti’s next pitch 405 feet to right-center field for his 29th home run of the season. Sweeney tripled and scored in the sixth inning before hitting a three-run homer in the seventh, both off reliever Tayler Scott.
Keith’s 11th home run of the year, also off Scott, put the Tigers in double digits for the first time since July 29. The onslaught was a balanced attack, with four multihit efforts and four players with multiple RBIs. Keith fell a triple shy of the cycle in a 3-for-4, two-RBI performance.
Flaherty (7-12), having allowed five runs in losses in his previous two starts, seemed headed down a similar path before stranding the bases loaded in the opening inning. He allowed one hit the rest of the way, retiring his final 11 batters in order for a season-best seven innings and a season-high-tying nine strikeouts. Astros hitters took 16 Flaherty fastballs for called strikes.