Tatsuya Imai (4-3, 6.15 ERA) draws the assignment Thursday at Comerica Park, matching up against Detroit's unbeaten Troy Melton (4-0, 2.56 ERA) for a 6:40 PM ET first pitch. The pitching matchup card does most of the talking here — 1 of these guys has been one of the AL's better starters, and 1 has been a coin flip every 5th day.
Houston comes in having won 2 of 3 in Toronto — the road trip finished with a 3-1 win Wednesday — and the Astros are sitting at 39-43 but still calling themselves buyers ahead of the trade deadline. That stance makes sense in an AL West where only Seattle is above .500, and the front office has reportedly shut down inquiries on Jeremy Peña and Christian Walker. Detroit, meanwhile, just got rolled in 2 straight by the Yankees to close a homestand that looked a lot better when they were 3-0 in it.
Melton is the reason to watch this one. He held the White Sox to 1 hit over 6 innings on June 20 for win No. 4, and before that went 8 innings against Tampa Bay. He's been Detroit's most consistent starter — by a significant margin — in a rotation that's also missing Verlander, Jackson Jobe, and Reese Olson. At 4-0 with a 2.56 ERA, he's pitching like someone trying to force a contract conversation.
- Day-To-DayWalker Janek C — Double-A Corpus Christi placed Janek on its 7-day injured list Sunday due to an unspecified injury.
- 10-Day-ILNick Allen SS — Allen (hamstring) resumed taking batting practice and shagging flyballs over the weekend, MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILLaMonte Wade Jr. 1B — Wade (hamstring) has resumed taking batting practice and shagging flyballs and is expected to head out on a minor-league rehab assignment soon, MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILBraden Shewmake SS — The Astros announced Monday that Shewmake (adductor) has taken part in baseball activity and is working his way through a running progression at the team's facility in Florida, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 15-Day-ILLance McCullers Jr. SP — McCullers (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILBennett Sousa RP — The Astros announced Friday that Sousa (elbow) has begun a throwing progression, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILCristian Javier SP — Javier (shoulder) struck out five and allowed three earned runs on five hits and three walks across 4.2 innings Sunday in his rehab start with Triple-A Sugar Land.
- 60-Day-ILRonel Blanco SP — Blanco (elbow) struck out five over three scoreless frames in his first rehab start with the Astros' Florida Complex League affiliate Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DayJosue Briceno C — Briceno said Friday that he expects to be sidelined a few months after having surgery Wednesday to repair a tendon in his right wrist, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
- 10-Day-ILWenceel Perez RF — The Tigers placed Perez on the 10-day injured list Friday due to a left orbital fracture, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
- 10-Day-ILGleyber Torres 2B — Torres (oblique) received a cortisone injection Friday and is expected to start up his rehab program in the next day or two, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
- 15-Day-ILJack Flaherty SP — Flaherty (ankle) is expected to return from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday against the Astros, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
- 60-Day-ILBurch Smith RP — The Tigers transferred Smith (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Tuesday.
- 60-Day-ILJustin Verlander SP — Verlander (hip) has been scratched from a scheduled start Sunday versus the White Sox due to a left hamstring injury, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILJavier Baez SS — The Tigers transferred Baez (ankle) to the 60-day injured list Thursday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
- 60-Day-ILTrey Sweeney SS — Sweeney will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery this week, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
The injury reports on both sides are brutal. Houston is down Carlos Correa (ankle surgery), Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski, Cristian Javier, and Brandon Walter — that's 4 rotation arms and their starting shortstop who are all unavailable. Lance McCullers started a rehab assignment Thursday. Detroit is missing Gleyber Torres (oblique), Wenceel Perez (orbital fracture), Javier Baez (ankle), and Trey Sweeney (season-ending shoulder surgery). Neither team is healthy. The Astros are just healthier than the standings suggest.
Imai's last start deserves credit — 11 strikeouts and 0 walks in 6 innings against Cleveland on June 19 was legitimate, the kind of outing that reminds you why Houston paid $54 million for a 3-time NPB All-Star. The problem is that his season has looked like 2 different pitchers sharing a locker. His ERA of 6.15 is the average. If Thursday's version is the Cleveland version, the Astros can steal this. If it's the version that couldn't retire enough hitters to survive the first inning — which has happened twice — Melton won't need much to finish the job.