Tatsuya Imai pitched 6 innings with 10 strikeouts and no runs allowed, earning his fifth win as an Astro.

Houston Astros Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai started on the road against the Detroit Tigers. His fastball and slider were both sharp, leaving the Tiger hitters at his mercy. The slider had a whiff rate of 61%. Over 6 innings, he threw 96 pitches, allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 10 batters, exiting with a flawless scoreless performance. The Astros' lineup broke the deadlock in the sixth inning with a solo home run by Taylor Trammell—his second of the season. In the ninth, Isaac Paredes added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly, sealing a 2-1 narrow victory. Imai delivered his second consecutive quality start, securing his fifth win (against 3 losses) and lowering his ERA to 5.36.

Imai came out firing from the very first batter, Kevin McGonigle, using a series of sliders to get a swinging strikeout. From the outset, he showcased powerful fastballs and sharp sliders, pitching with pinpoint control in a strikeout showcase, quickly racking up 6 strikeouts through the first three innings.

Imai usually struggles against the lineup the second time through, but today he faced no such issues. After getting two outs in the fourth inning, he allowed the game's first hit to the fourth batter, Riley Greene, then shut down the rest of the inning. In the fifth, he retired the side on two groundouts and a strikeout. Facing the order a third time in the sixth, he gave up a hit to McGonigle, then with one out and a runner on first, he got Dillon Dingler to swing and miss at a slider for a strikeout, cleanly escaping the jam. Following his previous start against the Guardians, Imai recorded double-digit strikeouts in back-to-back outings, finishing with 6 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, and no runs.

The Astros' offense was completely stifled by Tigers starting young right-hander Troy Melton, who used a fastball-cutter mix to keep them hitless through the first five innings. Imai received little run support for a long stretch, creating a tense atmosphere. However, with one out in the sixth inning, the eighth batter Trammell got a hold of a hanging slider and smashed it like a bullet down the right-field line. The ball landed fair, marking the Astros' first hit of the game—and a pivotal solo home run, his second of the season, giving the team a precious 1-0 lead.

Reliever AJ Blubaugh, who took over after Imai, also effectively used his slider, tossing two scoreless innings. After Paredes' sacrifice fly extended the lead to two runs, the ninth inning saw third reliever Eniel De Los Santos surrender a solo home run to Dingler—his 19th of the season—cutting the lead to one run. De Los Santos then settled down and prevented any further scoring. Although closer Josh Hader had the day off, the other bullpen arms combined to preserve the victory.