Astros: A.J. Hinch’s return comes with three Tiger home runs

As A.J. Hinch made his first appearance as an opposing manager in Minute Maid Park since May 6, 2010, his Detroit Tigers dismantled the Houston Astros 6-2 with three home runs from the bottom of their lineup. While dropping their third consecutive loss of the season, the Tigers dropped six runs, which is the same amount of runs as Hinch’s last game as a visiting manager at Minute Maid Park.

The organization and fans welcomed the return of Hinch to Minute Maid Park on Monday, but the Tigers went yard three times to ruin the party. From a standing ovation to a tribute video, players and fans gave a warm welcome the World Series Champion deserved.

As A.J. Hinch returns, Zack Greinke has his worst outing as an Astro.

While giving up six runs over 4.2 innings of work, Greinke posted his worse line as an Astros’ pitcher. The right-hander threw three 90+ mph pitches in his last start but couldn’t get over that hump in his first 90 pitches today. As this isn’t what Greinke is known for, it was obvious this was his worst appearance as an Astro.

With only two strikeouts, Greinke surrendered three walks and allowed 10 hits, after having two substantial starts before Monday. The right-hander tossed a 51.5 mph curve ball, which seemed impossible for an everyday major league player. It didn’t seem like Greinke was all their in his first loss of the season, but a rough patch comes with every season.

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Luis Garcia relieved Greinke late in the fifth inning, and had his best appearance of 2021. Through 4.1 innings, the right-hander fanned seven batters with one walk and two hits. While fighting to be the long reliever down the stretch, Garcia and Brandon Bielak are the front runners, as Cristian Javier will make his expected return in a few weeks from the alternate training site.

The bats are starting to cool off from being the hottest offense in MLB, and the worst thing to happen is see the pitching staff regress. While wanting to keep a hot start going, this team has lost three consecutive times to two teams that aren’t deemed contenders. It’s early in the season, but the bats need to find a rhythm.

The Astros have now lost three straight games, and while it is early in the season, the offense cooled immensely. Now 6-4, they are back on the field tomorrow at home against the Tigers at 7:10 p.m. As Jake Odorizzi makes Astros’ debut, the right-hander matches up against Matthew Boyd of Detroit.