DETROIT _ Justin Verlander and Justin Upton made sure the Detroit Tigers were just fine Sunday afternoon against the American-League leading Houston Astros.
Verlander pitched six shutout innings and Upton tied a career-high with six RBIs, leading the Tigers past the Astros, 13-1, at Comerica Park.
Upton hit a grand slam as part of a five-run seventh inning and finished 4-for-5. It was the fifth time Upton has driven in six runs in a game in his career.
Fans gave Verlander a standing ovation after he retired the Astros in order in the sixth. He gave them a quick hat tip after walking off the field, perhaps for the final time, though the trade rumors have died down lately.
Verlander allowed five hits and three walks over six shutout innings. He stuck out six.
Verlander got out of a base-loaded jam in the second inning. He also came away unscathed with runners on the corners in the fourth.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the second, Verlander got Derek Fisher to ground out to second. After Fisher put runners on the corners with a two-out single in the fourth, Verlander faced Jose Altuve, who had singled in his first two at-bats. Altuve was batting .600 (9-for-15) against Verlander before he flied out to left in foul territory.
Astros right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. allowed five runs on eight hits over five innings. He walked four and struck out four.
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Jose Iglesias in the 2nd inning.
The Tigers failed to extend the lead after loading the bases with two outs in the fourth. James McCann was hit by a pitch with one out. Iglesias added a two-out single and Dixon Machado reached on a fielding error by Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. But Mikie Mahtook grounded into a force out at shortstop.
The Tigers tacked on plenty of runs in the fifth and sixth innings though.
Upton scored from first on a double to left by Miguel Cabrera to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the fifth. It was Cabrera's second hit of the game and the 2,605th of his career, putting him in a tie with Hall of Famer Tim Raines for 79th on Major League Baseball's all-time hits list.
McCann extended his hitting streak to a career-best nine games with a two-out RBI single later in the inning to give the Tigers a three-run cushion.
Mahtook hit an RBI double to left and Upton followed with a two-run double to right in the sixth to put the Tigers ahead 6-0.
With the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh, Machado hit a sac fly to left to score McCann. Upton added his sixth career grand slam and second of the season to put the Tigers ahead 11-0.
McCann added a two-run home run in the eighth to give the Tigers a 13-run lead. It was McCann's 10th home run of the season. McCann finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Alex Bregman hit a home run off Tigers relievers Drew VerHagen in the top of the ninth.
