Blab Sports
Colt Keiths Three-Home Run Night Leads Tigers to 9-3 Victory Over Astros
In a blistering display at Daikin Park, Colt Keith belted three homers and drove in six to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 9‑3 win over the Houston Astros on Monday night.
Keith, 24, delivered the blasts in the third, seventh and ninth innings. A 411‑foot, two‑run shot off Astros reliever Kai‑Wei Teng opened the third, followed by a 344‑foot, two‑run homer in the seventh and a 347‑foot solo drive in the ninth. The trio added more than 1,100 feet of long ball. According to MLB.com, Keith said he was “seeing the pitch well” and felt he was in a good spot all day.
Detroit’s offense was fueled by homers from shortstop Kevin McGonigle and first baseman Spencer Torkelson. McGonigle’s 383‑foot solo blast in the second gave the Tigers a 5‑0 lead, while Torkelson’s 372‑foot homer in the third pushed the advantage to 7‑0. Houston’s only runs came from back‑to‑back shots by third baseman Isaac Paredes and second baseman Jose Altuve in the bottom of the third.
Teng, who entered the game in relief, was charged with five runs and six hits over 3 1/3 innings and was also the pitcher who hit Keith with a pitch with the bases loaded in the first inning, bringing in Houston’s first run. Tigers starter Drew Anderson was one of six pitchers who combined to allow seven hits and three runs over the nine innings. Relief pitchers Kyle Finnegan, Tyler Holton, Will Vest and Enmanuel De Jesus gave up only three hits and no runs in the final five innings.
Keith’s performance lifted his season batting average from .257 to .267 and increased his RBI total to 16. He had hit only one home run in his first 65 games of the season before Monday’s three‑for‑four night.
The Tigers are 30‑42, fourth in the American League Central and nine games behind the division‑leading Chicago White Sox. The win keeps the team from falling into a three‑game losing streak. Detroit will return to Houston for the second game of the three‑game series at 8:10 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
The Astros, 33‑41, will look to rebound after the loss. Their offense was limited to a single run, and the pitching staff was unable to contain the Tigers’ power hitters. The game was the first of a three‑game series in which the Tigers are favored to win, according to the betting lines.
Keith’s three‑home run night places him among a small group of Tigers who have achieved the feat. The franchise’s record for a three‑HR game was set by Al Kaline in 1955, and Keith is the second youngest player to reach the milestone. The Tigers’ history includes 26 three‑home run games, the most recent being Keith’s on Monday.
The Tigers’ next game will be played at home on Wednesday, where the team will face the Boston Red Sox. The Astros will host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday in a matchup that could impact playoff positioning in the AL West.
The Tigers’ offense has shown flashes of power, but the team will need to maintain consistency if it hopes to climb out of the middle of the AL Central. The Astros, meanwhile, will seek to improve their pitching and offensive production to stay competitive in the AL West.
Keith, 24, delivered the blasts in the third, seventh and ninth innings. A 411‑foot, two‑run shot off Astros reliever Kai‑Wei Teng opened the third, followed by a 344‑foot, two‑run homer in the seventh and a 347‑foot solo drive in the ninth. The trio added more than 1,100 feet of long ball. According to MLB.com, Keith said he was “seeing the pitch well” and felt he was in a good spot all day.
Detroit’s offense was fueled by homers from shortstop Kevin McGonigle and first baseman Spencer Torkelson. McGonigle’s 383‑foot solo blast in the second gave the Tigers a 5‑0 lead, while Torkelson’s 372‑foot homer in the third pushed the advantage to 7‑0. Houston’s only runs came from back‑to‑back shots by third baseman Isaac Paredes and second baseman Jose Altuve in the bottom of the third.
Teng, who entered the game in relief, was charged with five runs and six hits over 3 1/3 innings and was also the pitcher who hit Keith with a pitch with the bases loaded in the first inning, bringing in Houston’s first run. Tigers starter Drew Anderson was one of six pitchers who combined to allow seven hits and three runs over the nine innings. Relief pitchers Kyle Finnegan, Tyler Holton, Will Vest and Enmanuel De Jesus gave up only three hits and no runs in the final five innings.
Keith’s performance lifted his season batting average from .257 to .267 and increased his RBI total to 16. He had hit only one home run in his first 65 games of the season before Monday’s three‑for‑four night.
The Tigers are 30‑42, fourth in the American League Central and nine games behind the division‑leading Chicago White Sox. The win keeps the team from falling into a three‑game losing streak. Detroit will return to Houston for the second game of the three‑game series at 8:10 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
The Astros, 33‑41, will look to rebound after the loss. Their offense was limited to a single run, and the pitching staff was unable to contain the Tigers’ power hitters. The game was the first of a three‑game series in which the Tigers are favored to win, according to the betting lines.
Keith’s three‑home run night places him among a small group of Tigers who have achieved the feat. The franchise’s record for a three‑HR game was set by Al Kaline in 1955, and Keith is the second youngest player to reach the milestone. The Tigers’ history includes 26 three‑home run games, the most recent being Keith’s on Monday.
The Tigers’ next game will be played at home on Wednesday, where the team will face the Boston Red Sox. The Astros will host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday in a matchup that could impact playoff positioning in the AL West.
The Tigers’ offense has shown flashes of power, but the team will need to maintain consistency if it hopes to climb out of the middle of the AL Central. The Astros, meanwhile, will seek to improve their pitching and offensive production to stay competitive in the AL West.
