Astros rally – Isaac Paredes’ two-run double in the eighth capped a late Astros surge, lifting Houston to an 8-6 victory over the Detroit Tigers and denying former manager A.J. Hinch a 1,000th career win as he entered the game on 999 victories.
DETROIT — Isaac Paredes’ two-run double landed with the quiet finality of a door closing just as someone reaches the handle. The Houston Astros were behind late, the Detroit Tigers were trying to get A.J. Hinch to a milestone, and then the eighth inning flipped it all.
Houston scored three times in the eighth to take control, walking away with an 8-6 win on Saturday that kept Hinch at 999 career victories.
Hinch entered the game with 999 wins, including 481 with Houston between 2015 and 2019. He needed one more to reach 1,000, but Detroit’s bullpen couldn’t get it done.
The Astros trailed 6-5 going into the eighth. Jeremy Peña tied the game with an RBI single off Will Vest. and center fielder James Outman’s error put runners on second and third with two outs. Paredes, who started his career with the Tigers, followed with his two-run double to give Houston an 8-6 lead.
Bryan King then pitched a perfect eighth, and Josh Hader retired the Tigers in order in the ninth for his seventh save.
Houston had struck early. The Astros took a 2-0 lead on Cam Smith’s homer in the second inning and added another run in the third when Jose Altuve hit into a run-scoring double play.
Detroit responded in ways that felt like they kept catching up just before the Astros could pull away. The Tigers loaded the bases with one out in the third on a walk. Altuve’s fielding error and a hit batter. Kai-Wei Teng hung a 1-2 curveball to Kerry Carpenter. who launched it over the right-field fence for his third career grand slam.
Peña’s RBI single made it 4-4 in the fourth, but the Tigers took the lead again in the bottom half when Spencer Torkelson’s two-out double made it 5-4 and ended Teng’s afternoon.
Hao-Yu Lee’s home run off Steven Okert put Detroit up 6-4 in the fifth. Christian Walker cut Houston’s deficit to 6-5 in the seventh with an RBI single.
The rhythm of the game stayed tight all afternoon: Houston’s early lead, Detroit’s middle-inning bursts, and then a late Astros rally that came quickly once the inning broke open.
The next challenge is already set. The teams play for the seventh time in 14 days to finish their four-game weekend series.
Houston RHP Hunter Brown (1-0, 1.40) will start in his hometown, about two miles from the campus of Wayne State University, where he played Division II baseball. For Detroit, RHP Jack Flaherty (1-8, 5.34) is expected to be activated off the injured list to start.
In the end, it wasn’t just a win for Houston. It was the one moment A.J. Hinch couldn’t reach yet — the kind of night where a milestone doesn’t wait, and a bullpen has to answer when it matters.
Astros Tigers A.J. Hinch 1000th victory Isaac Paredes Jeremy Peña Josh Hader Bryan King Cam Smith Jose Altuve Kerry Carpenter Spencer Torkelson Hao-Yu Lee Christian Walker Hunter Brown Jack Flaherty
So they stopped him at 999? lol sports are so petty.
I didn’t even realize Hinch needed 1,000 wins. Baseball milestones always make me weirdly emotional. Also that error in the 8th sounds like it decided the whole thing.
Peña single, Outman error, then Paredes double… basically the Tigers handed them that inning. But I’m confused why they wouldn’t just pitch around Paredes if he “quietly” hits doubles like that every time.
Hinch getting robbed at 999 is wild. Reminds me of how Detroit always “almost” gets it done and then the bullpen gets all shaky. Also Cam Smith homer?? wasn’t he on some other team like last year or am I mixing him up with somebody else. Astros scored 3 in the 8th and that’s literally game over right there.