Pirate Galaxy » Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going

DETROIT -- Coming off a series loss to the New York Yankees, the Houston Astros badly needed a quick start Friday in Detroit.They got one, but it only lasted a few minutes.The Astros scored twice in the first inning, but the Tigers came back with two in the bottom of the inning and seven more in the second on their way to a 14-6 victory.Thats obviously not a great way to start the game, said Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. We got the quick 2-0 lead, and then were down seven after the second. We battled all night, but thats a big hole.Collin McHugh (7-7) went to the mound with a 2-0 lead, but didnt make it out of the second inning. He allowed eight runs and 10 hits while only retiring five batters.Matt Boyd (2-2) struck out George Springer to start the game, but Marwin Gonzalez doubled and Jose Altuve lined his 18th homer into the right-field stands. Detroit, though, tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Cabrera and an RBI single from Nick Castellanos.Cameron Maybins two-run double put the Tigers ahead 4-2 in the second, and Cabrera followed with a run-scoring single. Castellanos beat out a two-out infield single to score Cabrera with Detroits sixth run.They just never let me up for air, McHugh said. If I made a good pitch, they got a bat on it, and if I missed my spot at all, they hit it hard. That wasnt how I envisioned this game going.Chris Devenski replaced McHugh after Justin Uptons single, and immediately allowed a three-run homer to Tyler Collins.Thats what you dream about at night -- having a big game and getting the offense off and rolling, he said. Its good to be part of it.Upton and James McCann also homered, while Maybin had three hits and scored three times for the Tigers, who were coming off a three-game sweep at Fenway Park. Detroit moved a half-game behind Houston, with both chasing Boston for the second AL wild-card spot.The hot streak could turn the Tigers into buyers at the trade deadline.Lets put it this way -- it certainly doesnt help if we keep winning, Ausmus said. Theres no question about that.Boyd picked up the win, allowing three runs on four hits in five innings. He walked one while striking out six. Boyd is 2-0 in his last three starts after going 0-2 in his first six.It was awesome to get that kind of offense, Boyd said. I was all over the place in the first two innings, but I ironed out the issues and got things fixed.The Tigers led 13-3 after seven, but the Astros scored three runs off Tigers mop-up relievers Mark Lowe and Dustin Molleken.We battled all the way to the end -- we got three in the eighth and had runners on in the ninth, Hinch said. It was a bad night, but we are going to fight for all 27 outs.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: 1B Gonzalez left the game with a sore right hand, but it isnt considered serious. ... Houston placed INF Luis Valbuena on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring and recalled INF Tyler White from Triple-A Fresno. ... CF Carlos Gomez did not start after leaving Wednesdays game with a strained hamstring. Hes expected to miss the entire weekend series in Detroit.Tigers: RF J.D. Martinez (elbow) and RHP Jordan Zimmermann (neck) were both on rehab duty Friday with Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers are hoping to have both players back before the end of the current nine-game homestand.PATERNITY LEAVEAstros starting pitcher Doug Fister isnt with the team this weekend, as his wife is expected to give birth to the couples first child. Fister pitched for the Tigers from 2011-13.HOT STREAK ENDSMcHugh came into the night having posted a 2.49 ERA in his last seven starts, with the Astros going 6-1 in those games. The eight runs allowed tied a career record, last done on June 13, 2015 against Seattle.UP NEXTThe teams continue their three-game series Saturday evening, with Justin Verlander (10-6, 3.64) facing Mike Fiers (7-4, 4.69). Verlander is 3-0 in six career starts against Houston with a 2.06 ERA. Custom Kings T-shirts . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Wholesale Custom Kings Shirts . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. http://www.customnhlkingsjersey.com/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Custom Rob Blake Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Kings Jerseys China . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. It looked like this was going to be a breakout campaign for T.Y. Hilton when he posted at least 10 fantasy points in Weeks 3 through 5 and added a fourth double-digit-point game in Week 7. Hilton had only four games of this caliber last season, so the improved scoring pace was a boon for his fantasy owners.That early boom has started to trend iin the other direction of late, as Hilton has tallied single-digit point totals in three of his past four games and scored four or fewer points in two of those games.ddddddddddddSo what is the cause of the drop-off? ' ' '