DETROIT -- This one wasn’t as much fun.
One day after the Detroit Tigers rallied for a walk-off victory, the Houston Astros answered back with a decisive 9-2 win Saturday night at Comerica Park.
The Tigers (59-70) and Astros (73-58) will play the rubber match of the three-game series on Sunday.
Tigers starter Eduardo Rodriguez struggled with control, walking four batters and striking out just one in 4 2/3 innings.
The Astros struck out only four times all game. They drew six walks and were twice hit by a pitch.
Astros starter Hunter Brown, a graduate of Lakeview High School in St. Clair Shores who was drafted out of Wayne State in 2019, is now 2-0 in two starts at Comerica Park. (He made his second career start here last September).
Brown allowed two runs on four hits in five innings, striking out nine.
The Tigers scored one run in the fourth inning when Kerry Carpenter singled, stole second and was driven home by Parker Meadow’s RBI single. Meadows then stole second.
It was the first career stolen base for both players. Saturday was the fifth game of Meadows’ career and the 117th for Carpenter.
Meadows and Carpenter both finished 2-for-4 and were the only Tigers with multiple hits. Meadows is hitting .353 (6-for-17) since making his debut.
Up next: The Tigers wrap up their three-game series with the Astros on Sunday at 1:40 p.m.
Tigers right-hander Alex Faedo (2-4, 4.91 ERA) will face Astros right-hander Justin Verlander (9-6, 3.19).
Faedo was drafted by the Tigers in the first round in 2017, about two months before the Tigers shipped Verlander to the Astros in a now-infamous deal.
After parts of six seasons with the Astros, Verlander signed a two-year, $86.7 million deal with the New York Mets this offseason. After opening the year on the injured list, Verlander made his first start with the Mets in Detroit in May.
When the Mets’ season crumbled, he was sent back to the Astros at the trade deadline four weeks ago. He’s pitched well back home in Houston, going 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA in four starts.