Detroit Tigers fall to .500 for first time with 5-2 loss to Astros in new uniforms

It wasn't perfect, not by any means, but Detroit Tigers right-hander Casey Mize competed his way through six innings.

The leadoff hitter reached safely in five of his six innings, and Mize recorded just two strikeouts, but when he walked off the mound for the final time, the Tigers had the lead and were in position to win the game.

"I was proud of that compete factor, for sure," Mize said.

The Tigers, though, squandered Mize's gritty effort in a 5-2 loss to the Houston Astros in Friday's opener of a three-game set at Comerica Park. The Tigers wore their City Connect uniforms for the first time in Friday's game, and they'll wear them again for Saturday's game.

The new "electric blue" threads didn't spark a better version of the Tigers.

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The Tigers (19-19), who finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, have lost six of seven games, falling to .500 for the first time this season. But Mize wasn't the problem in Friday's loss, as he surrendered one run on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts in six innings.

"It's certainly a tough stretch right now," Mize said. "I think we just got to keep doing our thing. We just got to have more stuff click together at the same time. I think we've been a little inconsistent. We score runs one day and don't pitch well, and vice versa. It's going to click for us and be together consistently. Better days ahead."

Left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin and right-handed reliever Jason Foley were responsible for allowing the four runs in the eighth inning, with the first three runs charged to Chafin's tab.

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The first three batters in the Astros' four-run eighth inning reached safely against Chafin: Jose Altuve singled, Kyle Tucker drew a walk and Yordan Alvarez also singled, tying the game at 2-2.

The fourth batter of the inning reached safely against Foley, when Jeremy Peña hit a second-pitch sinker — clocked at just 94.8 mph on the radar gun and located in the middle of the strike zone — for a single into center field, making it 3-2.

"I think his aggressive in the strike zone has been a tick off lately," manager A.J. Hinch said of Foley, whose sinker averaged 95.5 mph, down from his 97.2 mph average this season. "Not by his own approach. He wants to pound the strike zone."

The Astros extended their lead to 5-2 on Alex Bregman's fielder's choice and Yainer Diaz's sacrifice fly.

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Casey Mize competes

Mize, who threw 88 pitches, walked the first two batters in the first inning, putting Altuve on base in seven pitches and Tucker on in five. But Mize bounced back by retiring the next three batters to escape the early jam: Alvarez (pop out), Peña (strikeout) and Jon Singleton (groundout).

"I think Casey was OK," Hinch said. "I don't think Casey was at his best, and he still navigated the game. ... He didn't really have a secondary pitch to go to. He was in grind mode from the very beginning, so his effort needs to be complimented because getting through that game, six innings and one run, was exceptional."

Another difficult situation occurred in the second inning, when Mize gave up a leadoff double to Bregman but sent down the next three batters. He also allowed a leadoff single to Peña in the fourth, then retired the next three batters. In the fifth, Mize worked around a leadoff single from Victor Caratini.

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The third inning was the only three up, three down of Mize's six-inning start.

"I threw some more curveballs," Mize said, "and I think that made the fastball a little bit better, but I think the slider was the one that I was able to get guys to put the ball on the ground."

In the sixth, Tucker blasted a leadoff home run off Mize's second-pitch fastball. He located the 92.1 mph fastball up and in; Tucker — a left-handed hitter — turned on Mize's slowest fastball of the day for a 409-foot solo homer to right field. He torched the ball with a 106 mph exit velocity.

It was Tucker's 12th homer in 38 games this season.

"I held my velo pretty well today, but 92 is certainly a few ticks under," Mize said. "I did hit my spot, but I'm not going to have a ton of success when a guy is probably looking fastball there, and it's 92 out of the hand. If it's 95, maybe it's a different result."

Alvarez kept the pressure on Mize with an ensuing single, but Mize helped himself by fielding a grounder from Peña and turning a double play. After that, he sent down Singleton on a groundout to end his outing.

Mize, who owns a 3.58 ERA in seven starts, generated 10 whiffs on 45 swings — a 22.2% whiff rate — with five fastballs, four sliders and one curveball.

His fastball averaged 95.5 mph.

Matt Vierling delivers

For the Astros, left-hander Framber Valdez allowed two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in seven innings.

The Tigers scored those two runs in the third inning.

"There's no secret how to beat him," Hinch said. "He knows it. Everybody knows it. You're going to try to elevate him and get the ball in the air. We did it a few times early, and then he makes a ton of pitches."

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The third inning featured three hits in a row, beginning with singles from Jake Rogers and Andy Ibáñez. Matt Vierling cashed in by sending Valdez's first-pitch curveball, a down-and-in offering, into left field.

Both runners scored for a 2-0 lead.

Mark Canha grounded out, moving Vierling to third base in the process, but Vierling was stranded at the hot corner when Riley Greene struck out swinging and Spencer Torkelson grounded out.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers drop to .500 with 5-2 loss to Houston Astros