Don’t look now but Yuli, Houston Astros saga comes full circle
SPORTSMAP ROUNDTABLE
27 January 2023
With just a few days left in January, we still don't know where Yuli Gurriel will be playing this season. Reports indicated last week that the Astros offered Yuli a contract, but he was likely to take a more enticing deal with the Miami Marlins.
Yuli even started following the Marlins on social media, which had many fans thinking his days in an Astros uniform were over. But the deal with the Marlins seemingly fell apart, and reports are now indicating that the Astros and Twins might be where Yuli eventually lands.
Yuli Gurriel’s better hopes beyond the Marlins now might include Astros and Twins. He has likely supporters in both places (Dusty/Crane in Houston, Correa in Minnesota). Astros already signed Abreu but they could find some at-bats for Yuli.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 24, 2023
Be sure to check out the video above as we address the latest reports and share our thoughts on what the future holds for the Astros and Yuli Gurriel.
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Gleyber Torres drew a 10th-inning walk to send home Wenceel Pérez and give the Detroit Tigers a 1-0 win over Houston on Tuesday night, the Astros third consecutive shutout loss.
Pérez started the 10th as the automatic runner on second base and took third on Andy Ibáñez’s fly to deep right. Kaleb Ort (2-2) intentionally walked Dillon Dingler, then struck out Javier Báez for the second out.
Jahmai Jones walked, loading the bases, and Torres took a 3-2 sweeper low and outside to register his 500th career RBI.
Will Vest (6-2) gave up one hit over two scoreless innings.
The game featured a marquee pitching matchup, with Tigers ace Tarik Skubal against Detroit native and All-Star Hunter Brown.
The pair combined to allow eight hits in 13 scoreless innings. Skubal’s 10 strikeouts in seven innings made him the first pitcher to reach 200 in 2025.
The Tigers put runners on the corners with one out in the third, but Christian Walker snared Kerry Carpenter’s low liner and stepped on first for an inning-ending double play.
Zach McKinstry led off the fifth with his ninth triple, but Brown escaped the inning with a groundball, a strikeout and a fly out.
The start of the game was delayed 35 minutes by rain.
Key moment
The Astros nearly took the lead in the fourth inning, but Torres’ relay throw to the plate was in time to erase Yainer Diaz at the plate. Houston challenged the call, and initial replays seemed to show Diaz’s hand got to the plate before Dingler made the tag, but the call was confirmed by New York.
Key stat
The crowd of 30,770 gave the Tigers a season attendance of 1,893,473 through 65 games. Last season, they drew 1,858,295. They have already sold enough tickets to reach 2 million for the first time since 2017.
Up next
Tigers RHP Charlie Morton (8-10, 5.20 ERA) faces LHP Framber Valdez (11-6, 3.01) on Wednesday.
