Astros show fight, but fall after rally in 9th

DETROIT — A Saturday night pitching duel between Justin Verlander and Mike Fiers ended in a battle of ninth-inning rallies, capped by Jose Iglesias’ walk-off infield single for a 3-2 Tigers win over the Astros at Comerica Park.

Verlander (11-6) took a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning, having thrown just 96 pitches while holding Houston hitless from the second inning, before George Springer and Jose Altuve singled and both later scored. Carlos Correa caught a 1-2 curveball for a one-out single to tie the game, then Colby Rasmus sent home the go-ahead run on a fielder’s-choice ground ball to short.

The rally got Fiers off the hook for a loss. He allowed an unearned run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings, but Will Harris (1-2) still had to close it out for a win. He retired Victor Martinez and struck out Andrew Romine before a walk to Justin Upton sparked a two-out rally.

After Tyler Collins’ single put the winning run on, James McCann was down to his last strike before hitting a curveball for a line drive to left. Collins went from first to third on the play, putting him in position to dash home on Iglesias’ ground ball to first. Iglesias outran Harris to the bag, getting his foot in ahead of the throw.

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