Astros 6, Tigers 5: Jose Altuve delivers walk-off win for Houston

It ended quickly, at least. With the score tied 5-5 in the ninth inning, Jose Altuve hit a first-pitch fastball into center field to score Jake Marisnick and give the Houston Astros a 6-5 walk-off win over the Detroit Tigers at Minute Maid Park.

For the third time this series, the Tigers scored first. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. After Jose Iglesias reached base on a fielding error by first baseman Chris Carter, Miguel Cabrera launched an RBI double to deep left-center field. Cabrera moved up to third base on a wild pitch by Astros starter Mike Fiers, then scored on a Victor Martinez groundout. The Tigers continued to threaten with two more hits, but Fiers got out of the jam by striking out Jefry Marte.

After escaping a jam of his own in the first inning, Tigers starter Matt Boyd couldn't work his way out of trouble in the second. He allowed a solo home run to Colby Rasmus to lead off the inning, cutting the Tigers' lead in half. With two on and two outs, Boyd caught too much plate with a fastball, and Marwin Gonzalez lined it into deep center for a triple. Carlos Correa singled Gonzalez home in the next at-bat, giving the Astros a 4-2 lead. Rasmus got around on another Boyd fastball in the next inning for his second home run, extending the Astros' lead to 5-2.

Both starters settled in for a few innings, but were unable to work through the sixth. The Tigers offense went to work in the seventh, cutting their deficit to one. Anthony Gose reached base on a single, then stole second base. After moving to third base on an Ian Kinsler groundout, Cabrera hit a line drive home run into the right field bleachers.

The Tigers tied the game in the eighth with another unearned run. J.D. Martinez hit a slow roller to third baseman Marwin Gonzalez, who airmailed the throw into the stands. With Martinez at second base, Tyler Collins lined an RBI single into center field to tie the game. In the ninth, Marisnick hit a two-out triple before Altuve lined Alex Wilson's first pitch into center for the win.

ROARS:

Miguel Cabrera: It took all of two games for Cabrera to get back to his usual self. Miggy hit a home run and drove in three runs today, reaching base safely four times.

Tyler Collins: Three hits and an RBI for Collins today, who also hit the ball hard the one time he was retired in the third inning.

HISSES:

Jefry Marte & Alex Avila: They're at the bottom of the lineup for a reason, but Marte and Avila were about as lifeless as you can be at the plate today. They combined for seven strikeouts in eight at-bats this afternoon.

Matt Boyd: He did a good job to limit the damage overall, but Boyd was hurt by the big inning for a second start in a row. His final line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO.

STREAKS AND STATS:

• Because of his trip to the disabled list, Miguel Cabrera went nearly two months between home runs. The last time Miggy dingered was on June 17 against Johnny Cueto and the Cincinnati Reds.
• Matt Boyd has a 4.67 ERA and 3.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio in three outings with the Tigers.

With his 2-run HR in the 7th, @MiguelCabrera now leads all Venezuelan-born players with 1,426 RBIs. Congrats, Miggy! pic.twitter.com/3FBq72FzGo

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 16, 2015

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:

Source: FanGraphs