Having spent almost 13 seasons in Detroit, Justin Verlander was right at home Wednesday night, allowing two hits and two walks over seven innings as the Astros stretched their winning streak to eight games with a 5-1 victory over the Tigers at Comerica Park. After Verlander (7-1) retired the first eight men he faced, JaCoby Jones homered for the Tigers' lone run. Verlander totaled 101 pitches, striking out nine, before Ryan Pressly and Roberto Osuna finished.<doc-sep>The baseball skidded toward the grass while Carlos Correa closed in. A shortstop's first step is the most important, and Correa claims a full spring of work has improved his impeccably. Correa charged right and extended his 6-4 frame into the outfield. At the only hint of trouble on a tremendous night, Justin Verlander turned his back toward the happening. Correa corralled the baseball and hopped to his feet. The throw he uncorked across the diamond registered 86 mph. Ronald Guzmán was out by a step. Verlander flung his right hand in celebration. He uttered a congratulatory expletive toward his teammate in the third inning of a gem. Correa extinguished the faintest of hope the Rangers rendered against the Astros' aging ace. Placing a leadoff man aboard so early could set Verlander askew. ASTROS INSIDER ON TEXAS SPORTS NATION: Loaded from top to bottom Instead, the third inning was invigorating, en route to an evisceration. Verlander allowed one hit across seven stunning innings, striking out eight Rangers in a 3-0 win at Minute Maid Park. Verlander outdueled Rangers starter Lance Lynn, who entered Minute Maid Park with an ERA approaching six. The Astros refused to inflate it further, managing only six hits, Against Verlander, set-up man Ryan Pressly and closer Roberto Osuna, Texas managed two hits. It did not put a runner at third base, wasting a valiant night from Lynn. Back-to-back solo shots from seven-hole hitter Yuli Gurriel and Robinson Chirinos in the eighth were insurance, upping a lead Jake Marisnick manufactured in the third. Correa's play roused a ballpark filled with 33,023 patrons dividing their attention between baseball and Rockets basketball. To begin the home half, Marisnick saw two fastballs. One sailed in and the other flew high, placing the nine-hole hitter ahead 2-0 to begin the third. Lynn required another fastball and Marisnick knew it. The shaggy speedster smoked the 92 mph offering into the Astros' bullpen 423 feet away, a prodigious solo home run that allowed Verlander all the cushion he required. ASTROS MAILBAG: Is bullpen an option for Collin McHugh? Against Verlander, only Hunter Pence reached second base. He coaxed a 10-pitch walk, part of a 29-pitch fourth inning that prevented Verlander from completing this gem. Verlander's slider was sublime. Eight of his 21 swings and misses arrived against it. All but three of his strikeouts concluded on it. Verlander began the fifth with a no-hitter. Asdrubal Cabrera clubbed an opposite-field single on the frame's first pitch, pausing the pitcher's pursuit of history. A groundball double play kept his outing spotless. When Verlander cedes contact, it is so often soft and lifted lazily to the outfield. More than 50 percent of the balls put in play against him last year were fly balls. He generated only three groundball double plays in 214 innings, instead opting for strikeouts to strand runners. Friday offered an unfamiliar feeling. Only five of Verlander's 10 outs in play arrived through the air. Five others came on the ground, forcing the defense behind him to harness its best. TEXAS SPORTS NATION: Get the newsletter for real sports fans sent directly to your inbox. Down one crucial member, it did. Inserted at second base after José Altuve exited with a hamstring injury in the first inning, Aledmys Díaz turned a tremendous 4-6-3 double play in that aforementioned fifth inning. Alex Bregman completed a spinning play on a grounder in the sixth. And, again in the ninth, Josh Reddick grabbed a well-struck ball at the right-field wall to eliminate hope for a comeback against Osuna. Visit HoustonChronicle.com for extended coverage from Astros vs Rangers<doc-sep>Detroit — The crowd was smaller, the ovation not nearly as loud. Justin Verlander saw a few familiar faces, but for him, this was a completely unfamiliar scene. It felt like the end of a nostalgic embrace, heartfelt without heart strings. Verlander returned for the second time with the Astros and reminded Tigers fans of the greatness they once saw on a regular basis. He was mostly dominant, beating the Tigers 5-1 Wednesday night, and the gap between two teams and two eras looked wider than ever. Houston beat the Tigers by a cumulative 24-6 in the three-game sweep, capped by a routine thumping before a crowd of 15,940 at Comerica Park, barely a thousand more than showed up for the first two games of the series. Verlander generated polite applause and called it special, but this was a long way from Must-See JV Time. “It’s kind of sad,” Verlander said. “Most of my memories here, this ballpark was packed, the fans were rowdy. It’s obviously a bit different now, but that comes with winning. Nothing against these guys, I know they’re grinding and playing the best baseball they can, but it comes down to winning.” When Verlander walked off the mound after the seventh inning, having allowed two hits and striking out nine, the smattering of fans behind the visitor’s dugout stood and cheered, and he doffed his cap. I suppose it’s harder to reminisce when the Tigers (18-23) are trudging through a rebuild that isn’t exactly going smoothly. After the game, Ron Gardenhire announced young third baseman Jeimer Candelario was being sent to Toledo, saddled with a .192 batting average. Disappointment The connection grows thinner the longer Verlander is away, and it’s approaching two years since the Tigers officially launched their rebuild by trading him for prospects. Oh, Verlander still is beloved by many Tigers fans, still a near-certain Hall-of-Famer, still one of the franchise’s all-time greats. But through no fault of his own, he’s also the nagging symbol of what could have been, or should have been, and how far the Tigers have to go. The Astros won the world championship the Tigers chased for a decade, and Verlander was the one who helped deliver it in 2017. If possible, he’s been even better since, now 7-1 with a 2.38 ERA. He has said his biggest regret here was not winning the World Series for Mike Ilitch, losing in 2006 and 2012, and that lingered for a while. “I gave everything I possibly had,” Verlander, 36, said. “But I don’t sit back and think of those moments and how we came so close. I did for a long time. But winning one, personally, kind of exorcises some of those demons and memories. You remember one pitch here and there, and that can dwell on you. I’m definitely disappointed we weren’t able to pull it off here, always will be.” The Astros, after years and years of struggling, are reaping the Verlander benefits now. The Tigers should reap more benefits eventually, as three prospects acquired in the trade — outfielder Daz Cameron, catcher Jake Rogers, pitcher Franklin Perez — show plenty of promise. Flash of feistiness There was a little buzz early in this game, a big cheer when JaCoby Jones slugged a third-inning home run for the Tigers’ first hit, and that was pretty much it. Miguel Cabrera, the other symbol of a bygone era, didn’t play because of a sore knee, depriving the fans of one fun confrontation, although Verlander didn’t mind missing Miggy. “No,” he said with a laugh. “We talked about it a bunch when we played together, and I don’t know what I would’ve done though. I’ve seen him be such a hitter for so long, you had all these moments in your head, flashbacks to, well, he’s hit that pitch, he’s hit that pitch, he’s hit that pitch.” Cabrera was injured when Verlander returned for the first time with the Astros last September. That was an emotional night as the Tigers honored Verlander with a tribute video, and although the crowd was only 19,711, the atmosphere was much more electric. The plug has been pulled on that, although Verlander sounds genuinely appreciative of the fans and the city he called home for 12 years. “It honestly is really special,” Verlander said. “For the most part of my career here, fans were incredible toward me. I had a couple of bad years, and people were like the one guy out in left field tonight who kind of threw me.” He smiled as he told the story of a fan near the Astros bullpen who welcomed Verlander back Wednesday night by repeatedly yelling variations of “you (stink)!” He actually seemed to enjoy it, perhaps because he knows he doesn’t remotely (stink), and perhaps because it was a flash of the feisty passion that used to fill Comerica Park. That time is long gone, and the days of reminiscence are just about over. bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com Twitter: @bobwojnowski<doc-sep>Justin Verlander allowed one hit over seven strong innings, and the Houston Astros belted three solo homers while overcoming an injury to star Jose Altuve to beat the visiting Texas Rangers 3-0 on Friday night for their third consecutive victory. Verlander, who improved to 6-1 with a 2.51 ERA, struck out eight and yielded only Asdrubal Cabrera's single to lead off the fifth inning as the Astros won for the sixth time in seven games. It's the third time in Verlander's career that he has allowed just one hit in a start against the Rangers. However, Houston's latest victory might have come with a price as Altuve exited with left hamstring discomfort in the bottom of the first after beating out an infield hit. The team listed him as day-to-day. For the rest of the night, the Astros were just fine without Altuve. Jake Marisnick clubbed his third homer of the season, a deep shot to right-center in the third inning. In the seventh, with two outs and Texas starter Lance Lynn in a nice groove, Yuli Gurriel and Robinson Chirinos delivered back-to-back home runs to pad the Astros' advantage. Red Sox 14, Mariners 1 Mitch Moreland hit a three-run home run and had four RBIs, and Eduardo Rodriguez (4-2) pitched seven scoreless innings as Boston moved above .500 for the first time this season with a win over visiting Seattle. Rafael Devers went 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs, and Andrew Benintendi also went deep as the Red Sox won for the ninth time in their past 11 games. Boston had been below .500 since March 30 before evening its record Wednesday. The Mariners, fell below .500 for the first time this season. Seattle has dropped 10 of its past 12. Athletics 4, Indians 3 (12 innings) Matt Chapman homered to lead off the 12th inning as host Oakland beat Cleveland to win for the third time in four games on the heels of losing eight of the previous nine. Brad Hand (2-2) entered the game to begin the 12th inning and saw Chapman deposit a 3-2 slider over the wall in left field for his 10th homer of the season. The blast was the first walk-off homer of Chapman's career. Ramon Laureano belted a solo homer, and Josh Phegley had an RBI single among his three hits for the Athletics. Jake Bauers ripped an RBI double and scored on a double play, and Francisco Lindor had a sacrifice fly for the Indians, who have lost four of their past six. Brewers 7, Cubs 0 Ryan Braun belted a solo homer and Gio Gonzalez (1-0) scattered two hits over 5 2/3 innings and visiting Milwaukee downed Chicago. Yasmani Grandal collected two hits and joined Jesus Aguilar with two RBIs for the Cubs. The Brewers, who have won seven in a row, got to Jose Quintana (4-2), who allowed three runs on four hits in 6 2/3 innings. Both starting pitchers surrendered just one hit through three scoreless innings before Braun deposited a 1-0 fastball from Quintana over the wall in center field with two outs in the fourth. Yankees 4, Rays 3 Gio Urshela hit a go-ahead, two-run, bases-loaded single in the sixth inning, and New York beat Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla., in the first meeting of the season between the teams. The Yankees won for the 17th time in 23 games. The Rays dropped to 1-7 in one-run games this year. New York's Domingo German (7-1) became the first seven-game winner in the majors after his five-inning outing. He allowed three runs on five hits, struck out five, walked two and threw 84 pitches. Twins 6, Tigers 0 Jake Odorizzi allowed just one hit over seven innings, and Mitch Garver and Max Kepler homered to lead Minnesota to its fourth straight victory, a decision over visiting Detroit in Minneapolis. Odorizzi (5-2), the reigning American League Player of the Week after allowing six hits and pitching 13 scoreless innings in wins over the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, won his fifth consecutive start. Jorge Polanco doubled and drove in three runs, and Garver walked three times and scored twice for the Twins, who have outscored their opponents 26-1 while winning each of their past four games. Mets 11, Marlins 2 Amed Rosario's first career grand slam highlighted an eight-run first inning for host New York. That was more than enough for Zack Wheeler (3-2), who cruised to victory by allowing two runs over seven innings against Miami. The Mets, who scored just 15 runs in a 1-5 road trip that ended Wednesday, busted out hours after COO Jeff Wilpon reportedly met with first-year general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and second-year manager Mickey Callaway. The 11 runs tied a season high set March 30. The first eight Mets batters reached against Marlins starter Pablo Lopez (2-5), who gave up five singles, including an infield RBI hit by Wilson Ramos, and two walks, including one with the bases loaded to Brandon Nimmo, before surrendering Rosario's grand slam. Blue Jays 4, White Sox 3 Randal Grichuk hit a three-run home run, Teoscar Hernandez added a solo blast and Toronto beat visiting Chicago. Joe Biagini (2-1) pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings in relief to pick up the win for the Blue Jays, who ended a five-game losing streak. Ken Giles pitched a perfect ninth to earn his ninth save of the season. Justin Smoak walked four times for the Blue Jays. Tim Anderson hit a solo home run for the White Sox, who lost their third straight. Chicago starter Dylan Covey (0-2) allowed three hits, five walks and four runs in 4 2/3 innings. Pirates 2, Cardinals 1 Trevor Williams allowed only one run over seven innings as visiting Pittsburgh hung on to beat St. Louis. Starling Marte's single to right field in the eighth made a winner of Williams (2-1), who allowed nine hits but walked only one while striking out five. The tiebreaking rally off reliever Andrew Miller (1-2) came after the Cardinals tied the score in the seventh on an infield single by Paul DeJong.<doc-sep>
DETROIT — Justin Verlander walked from the bullpen and across right field with no fanfare. Robinson Chirinos chatted quietly with his pitcher, who slung a white towel over his left shoulder. It was during this walk last September when the Detroit Tigers tribute video began, stopping the scrupulous righthander from his regimented pregame schedule. No such pageantry preceded his arrival Wednesday. The public address announcer read Verlander’s name with the same inflection as the nine others that preceded it. A crowd of 15,940 — by far the largest of the Astros’ three-game decimation of Detroit — offered an appreciably loud round of applause. One man yelled “you suck” from the left field bleachers. “Besides him, the fans were great,” Verlander said with a smile. “I swear to God I heard this guy. I should probably be focused a little more.” Verlander holds Comerica Park’s benchmarks in innings, wins and strikeouts. His victory total there is the highest by an active pitcher in any venue across Major League Baseball. Wednesday concluded with his 99th. Astros insider: Takeaways from series at Tigers In a town where he remains revered, Verlander spun seven innings of two-hit, one-run baseball. When he was finished, most fans exited, resigned to their tanking team’s eventual fate. “It’s not strange. It’s kind of sad,” Verlander said of the modest crowd. “I think most of my memories here, this ballpark was packed. The fans were rowdy. It’s obviously a bit different now. But that comes with winning. Put a winning product on the field, and the fans will show up.” With more seats unfilled by the ninth inning, the Astros finished a 5-1 win, limiting the Tigers to two hits while stretching their winning streak to eight. They outscored Detroit 24-6 in a three-game emasculation, even with a surprisingly unprolific offensive performance Wednesday. Tigers starter Gregory Soto (0-2) served as Nick Ramirez’s opener. Both men entered Wednesday night with one major league appearance. Each was going on only three days’ rest, thrust into this unconventional arrangement by an assortment of injuries to the Tigers’ starting rotation. The Astros entered with 33 home runs in their past 12 games and four consecutive games of at least 10 hits. Throwing this hodgepodge of hurlers against a hammering Houston order, especially while Verlander threw, seemed a recipe for a rout. Houston mustered just eight hits. Three garnered extra bases. Soto hung a first-inning slider that Alex Bregman bludgeoned beyond the bullpens in left field for his 14th home run of the season. Bregman’s ninth homer in May leaves him three shy of a franchise record established by Jimmy Wynn in 1969. The third baseman has homered 10 times in his last 15 games. From the nine-hole, Jake Marisnick mustered the team’s only multi-hit night. His run-scoring triple in the eighth inning was window dressing on a dominant pitching performance. Ryan Pressly and Roberto Osuna struck out five of the final six Tigers who stepped to the plate. “Playing center field behind that is fun to watch,” Marisnick said. “The ball jumps out of their hand, and (Verlander) was on tonight. He had some great stuff.” Twenty-three of Verlander’s 101 pitches were swung on and missed, equaling the ace’s season high. He yielded five baserunners in seven innings. Two reached via walk and another on Bregman’s sixth-inning throwing error. Verlander’s slider was superb. Twelve of the 25 he threw were swung through. Five of his nine strikeouts ended with one. Throwing his curveball for eight called strikes aided in his ability to mix the two breaking pitches. “It makes (him) impossible to hit,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “When he’s landing both breaking balls and (throwing) the fastball where he wanted to — he even threw a couple down in the zone. He’s tough to hit as is, but when he’s able to command the strike zone, it’s nearly impossible to hit him nowadays.” A 26-pitch fifth interrupted an otherwise impeccable outing. After Josh Harrison hammered a triple into the right-center gap, Verlander (7-1) issued consecutive two-out walks to eight-hole hitter Brandon Dixon and nine-hole hitter JaCoby Jones. Jones resides at the bottom of a downtrodden Detroit order, wallowing with a .498 OPS and .258 slugging percentage across his first 100 plate appearances. Still, the former LSU slugger demolished an elevated fastball 436 feet into the second deck during the third inning, sullying Verlander’s line with a run. In the fifth, Jones saw five pitches.