Ronel Blanco tossed seven no-hit innings and Jose Altuve clubbed a three-run home run as the Houston Astros claimed the rubber match of their three-game series against the visiting Detroit Tigers with a 4-1 victory on Sunday.
Blanco (7-2) continued his breakout campaign and flirted with a second no-hitter this season. Blanco allowed two walks and recorded seven strikeouts when he no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays on April 1 and was equally dominant against the Tigers, save for a sudden bout of wildness with two outs in the fifth inning that likely cost him an opportunity to pitch deeper into the contest.
Blanco retired the first 14 batters he faced, eight by strikeout, before issuing a two-out walk to Gio Urshela in the fifth. Blanco then walked Akil Baddoo and Carson Kelly to load the bases before Zach McKinstry hit a fly ball to shallow center that snuffed the threat.
Urshela later reached on a two-out throwing error by Astros third baseman Alex Bregman in the seventh. Blanco followed by retiring Baddoo on a deep flyout to center but, with 94 pitches on his ledger, his day was complete. Blanco matched his season high for strikeouts and generated 15 swings and misses, eight on his changeup. It marked his staff-high eighth quality start.
Tigers rookie right fielder Wenceel Perez ended the combined no-hit bid when he dumped a two-out single to center off Astros reliever Ryan Pressly in the eighth. Houston closer Josh Hader surrendered an RBI double to pinch-hitter Andy Ibanez in the ninth but preserved the win.
The Astros struck early against Tigers right-hander Kenta Maeda (2-3). Altuve drilled a leadoff single to center in the bottom of the first and advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Yordan Alvarez later added a sharp single to right that scored Altuve for a 1-0 advantage.
An inning later, Altuve followed a two-out walk by Chas McCormick with his 11th home run — a 402-foot shot to left-center that also scored Mauricio Dubon, who reached with a one-out single. It marked the 11th home run of the season for Altuve and spotted the Astros a four-run lead.
Maeda, aided by double-play grounders in the third and fourth innings, allowed four runs on five hits and two walks with one strikeout over five innings.
–Field Level Media
