DETROIT — Those 2022 Detroit Tigers just keep on making history.
Kicking off the season's penultimate homestand, Detroit was blanked at Comerica Park by the Houston Astros, 7-0, on Monday night, to set a modern franchise record for most shutouts in a single season with 21.
The Tigers collected six hits — all of them singles besides a Willi Castro double in the third — but couldn't scrape a runner across. Two runners were thrown out at home plate and five were left on base.
Detroit's previous franchise record for shutout losses was set in 1975.
Astros starter Framber Valdez pitched all nine innings of the shutout affair, his second complete game of the season, and struck out eight while walking one. Shortstop Jeremy Pena was 3-for-5 with an RBI, Kyle Tucker had three RBI and Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel each drove home runs for Houston (91-50). The Astros had 13 hits.
Right-hander Eduardo Rodriguez went five innings for the Tigers (54-87), giving up 10 hits, five runs, five earned, two walks and striking out two. Catcher Eric Haase had a two-hit game.
Jason Foley (one inning) and Garrett Hill (two) combined for three innings of one-hit, scoreless relief for the Tigers. Will Vest was tagged for two more runs in the ninth.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead just four pitches into the game. Jose Altuve singled out of the gate and then stole a base. He scored from second on a softly hit ball by Pena that was misplayed by Javier Baez. Bregman then brought Pena home on an RBI single.
Detroit looked like it might be ready to fight fire with fire. Riley Greene singled to lead off the first and reached third after Astros catcher Martin Maldonado's throw down went into the outfield. Greene was then thrown out at home after breaking for the plate on a ground ball by Baez.
Spencer Torkelson hit a ball in the first inning that traveled 416 feet, to the corner of where Comerica Park's left field wall meets center field, but the ball was caught and two runners were stranded.
Torkelson went 0-for-4 on Monday night after batting 9-for-22 with a 1.186 OPS on the Tigers' most recent roadtrip.
Baez got Detroit starter Eduardo Rodriguez out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the third when he started a double play off the bat of Kyle Tucker.
That opened the door for the Tigers to grab some momentum in the third inning, but they instead had another runner thrown out at home. After a two-out double, Castro went home on a single from Baez and was initially called safe on the play. The Astros challenged and umpires reversed the call, keeping the Tigers scoreless.
The Astros threatened again with no outs in the fifth. With runners on first and third and no outs, Tigers third baseman Ryan Kreidler made a nice defensive play by baiting Pena into running home before eventually getting him out in a rundown.
In the next two at-bats, though, Tucker drove home a run on a fielder's choice and Yuli Gurriel roped a two-RBI double to make it 5-0, Astros.
Foley and Hill kept the Astros quiet through the eighth inning, but Houston loaded the bases in the ninth and Tucker took advantage with a two-RBI single into the gap that sealed Detroit's fate.
