Hunter Brown made his long awaited return Tuesday night and the Astros beat the Tigers 4-2. Raynel Delgado drove in two runs in the eighth inning in just his second major league game to seal it. A great night all around for a team that needed it.
Hunter Brown's Return
Brown made his return in front of his hometown crowd and against the team he grew up following, just another added layer to the excitement of his anticipated return to the mound.
He pitched 5 and 2/3 innings and struck out seven. He gave up three hits, three walks, and one run. A bit of a long outing in terms of pitch count, but despite that it was a strong return for a pitcher who had not pitched in the majors since March 31.
That was exactly the kind of outing the Astros needed to see. Now that they have their ace back, the Astros pitching staff is about to be a whole lot stronger.
The Astros trailed 2-1 entering the eighth inning. Raynel Delgado hit a single to center that brought home Yainer Diaz and Cam Smith to take the lead. A big moment for Delgado, who made his major league debut just two days earlier on June 14.
Joey Loperfido scored later in the inning on a Jeremy Peña groundout. The call was reviewed and Peña was ruled safe at first. A huge overturned call in the Astros' favor.
Josh Hader closed it out in the ninth for his third save of the season.
Hunter Brown wasn't the only player to return from the IL. Yainer Diaz also returned after more than two months out with an oblique strain. While Brown's return was highly anticipated, Diaz's situation is a little trickier. Since Diaz went down, Christian Vazquez took over behind the plate and the pitching staff improved significantly. Diaz will need to be sharp early to hold onto consistent playing time.
The Astros even the series with the Tigers and improve to 34-41. With Brown back, Diaz back, and the offense contributing in clutch moments, this team is starting to look whole.
Peter Lambert faces Casey Mize today in the series finale.
This was the kind of complete team win the Astros have been missing. Brown's return is a major boost heading into the second half of the season. One more game to take the series and they will have back to back series wins.
