Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Detroit 6, Houston 5
When: 1:08 PM ET, Thursday, May 21, 2015
Where: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
Temperature: 59°
Umpires: Home - Mark Carlson, 1B - Mike DiMuro, 2B - Tripp Gibson, 3B - Brian Gorman
Attendance: 33193

DETROIT -- James McCann has shown a flair for dramatic home runs early in his major league career.

McCann's first home run was an inside-the-park rarity at Minnesota. His second career homer gave the Detroit Tigers a 6-5, 11-inning victory over the Houston Astros on Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Leading off the bottom of the inning, McCann hit an 0-2 pitch just over the left-field wall against reliever Tony Sipp (2-1). He had not hit a walk-off homer since he played for the University of Arkansas.

"My approach was just trying to get on base, try to get the next guy to the plate with someone on base and see what can happen," said McCann, who became the regular catcher when Alex Avila went on the disabled list earlier this month. "I got a pitch up in the zone and was able to hit a home run. The crowd was actually what made me realize it had gone out. I looked up and couldn't find where the ball was and the crowd erupts. That was a pretty cool feeling."

McCann isn't looking to top himself with his next home run.

"I'd like to play for a while," he said. "That would be a good encore."

Right-handed hitters were batting .133 against the left-handed Sipp, who had not given up a home run this season. But he was pitching for the third straight day.

"He's had a ton of success," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "He just hung a split and game over. It was a two-strike pitch and he did his job getting ahead. McCann put a pretty good swing on it, but I'll take Tony Sipp against righties."

The Tigers weren't expecting to be in that situation. They were up 5-0 with ace David Price on the mound. The American League West-leading Astros knocked Price out with three runs in the seventh, then erased the deficit with single runs the next two innings.

Pinch hitter Preston Tucker hit a one-out, opposite-field home run off Tigers closer Joakim Soria in the ninth to tie the score at 5. It was Tucker's first career homer and the Astros' major-league-leading 62nd of the season.

"That was a big comeback for our guys," Hinch said. "I'm really proud of the effort and the focus against a tough pitcher, to get Price out of there and then tie it up late. It's tough to lose that game, just because of how we did come back."

Alex Wilson (1-0) pitched two innings of scoreless relief to get the victory.

Price struck out a season-high 12 and was cruising until he allowed three runs (two earned) in the seventh.

"That's the best I've felt on the mound, regardless of the results," Price said. "I don't care about the strikeouts or the runs there in the seventh inning. That's the best I've felt and that's the best I've thrown the baseball this year. But they're a first-place team for a reason."

Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos, who had a go-ahead, three-run triple against Milwaukee on Wednesday, hit his fourth homer of the season.

Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera collected his 1,400th career RBI and had two singles to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Left fielder Yoenis Cespedes added three hits and a walk while scoring twice for the Tigers (25-17).

Right fielder George Springer had two hits, scored a run and knocked in another for the Astros (27-15), who had won seven of their last eight before the four-game series opener.

Houston starting pitcher Scott Feldman gave up four earned runs in six innings.

A two-out walk to Cespedes got Feldman in trouble in the fourth. Castellanos followed with his two-run blast to left-center field.

The Tigers extended their lead with two runs in the fifth and right fielder Rajai Davis made it 5-0 in the sixth with a run-scoring double.

Price was cruising until the seventh when the Astros suddenly erupted for three runs. Designated hitter Evan Gattis' triple brought in the first one and shortstop Jonathan Villar and catcher Hank Conger delivered two-out, RBI singles before Price was removed.

Springer's RBI double off Joba Chamberlain in the eighth made it 5-4.

NOTES: Tigers DH J.D. Martinez went 0-for-5, snapping his hitting streak at 11 games. ... Astros RF George Springer has walked 14 times in his last 15 games, including once on Thursday. ... Detroit won the season series 4-3 last year. ... The Tigers stole two bases and tied the Astros for the American League lead, with 39. ... Astros RHP Josh Fields suffered a bone contusion on the outside of his right knee after being struck by Detroit CF Anthony Gose's line-drive single in the ninth inning.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Houston   Detroit
Scott Feldman Player David Price
No Decision W/L No Decision
6.0 IP 6.2
2 Strikeouts 12
10 Hits 5
6.00 ERA 2.70
Hitting
Houston   Detroit
George Springer Player Yoenis Cespedes
2 Hits 3
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
3 TB 4
.500 Avg 1.000
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Houston 9 1 16 .214 11 14 4 1 0 1
Detroit 13 2 21 .317 20 8 6 3 2 2