The Houston Astros defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-2 on Tuesday night inside Daikin Park. The game saw the highly anticipated return of Hunter Brown from the injured list as well as Framber Valdez back in Houston as a member of the visiting team.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Making his long-awaited return to the mound was Hunter Brown for the Astros. Brown had been out since March 31st, when he made his second start of the year. He was able to post a zero in the first after a relay cut down a runner at the plate for the final out of the inning.
Opposing Brown was his former Astros’ teammate Framber Valdez. Valdez played the first eight years of his big-league career in Houston, helping the Astros to a World Series Title in 2022. He left for the Tigers in free agency in the offseason, and his Astros’ tenure ended with some turmoil after a disappointing finish in 2025. In this game, Valdez also worked a scoreless first, keeping the game 0-0.
Detroit would strike first in the second. Hao-Yu Lee delivered an RBI single to make it 1-0 in favor of the Tigers.
Houston would strand five runners across the first three innings, struggling to break through. In the bottom of the fifth, they finally got on the board via a passed ball that allowed Raynel Delgado to score the first Astros’ run.
Brown would go 5 2/3 in his inaugural start off the injured list. He gave up just the one run and struck out seven. Valdez would go six innings, allowing just an unearned run while striking out six.
The score stayed 1-1 until the top of the eighth. In that frame, Detroit went ahead with Dillon Dingler providing a sacrifice fly for an RBI. That made it 2-1 Tigers.
The lead was short-lived. In the bottom of the eighth, Houston got a two-run single from Delgado, taking a 3-2 lead. Then, after a lengthy review, a call was overturned that gave Jeremy Pena an RBI on a fielder’s choice. That gave the Astros a 4-2 advantage heading to the ninth inning.
Josh Hader allowed a leadoff single in the ninth. However, he navigated his way through the rest of the inning, closing it down and earning the save in a 4-2 Astros win.
BIG NUMBER: 3
The start was just the third of the season for Brown. The Astros need him healthy and anchoring their rotation the rest of the way if they are going to get back into the mix in the American League West.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Raynel Delgado
An unlikely hero, Delgado scored the Astros’ first run on a wild pitch. Then, he delivered the tying and go-ahead runs with a single in the eighth. All in all, he went 2-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
UP NEXT: The Astros and Tigers will wrap up their three-game set tomorrow afternoon at 1:10 PM. You can listen to the action on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.