DETROIT -- Robbie Ray spent the last six months in the tall, lanky shadow of Doug Fister, the former Tigers starter whose trade brought him into the system. Ray's Major League debut on Tuesday brought him fairer comparisons.Called up after just five Triple-A starts to fill in for Anibal Sanchez, Ray not only shut down the Houston Astros offense for five-plus innings before finally giving up a run, he looked quite comfortable doing so. A steady diet of Tigers runs helped, including Miguel Cabrera's third home run of the year in a four-hit, four-RBI performance, sending the Tigers cruising to an 11-4 win at Comerica Park. 
Detroit's seventh consecutive win extended its grasp on the American League's best record. Three of those victories have come from starting pitchers other than their front three of Sanchez, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Ray wasn't even the Tigers' sixth starter or insurance man when the season began, taking the nod only when his early success amid struggles everywhere else in the Triple-A Toledo rotation vaulted Ray from top prospect to ready for a taste of Major League hitting.By the time he left, only an Ian Kinsler drop and a Dexter Fowler run kept the 22-year-old left-hander from becoming the first Tiger since Andy Van Hekken in 2002 to deliver five or more shutout innings in his Major League debut.Van Hekken, a 23-year-old lefty at the time of his promotion, threw a shutout against Cleveland on Sept. 3, 2002, and he didn't win another game in his big league career. The Tigers are hoping Ray eventually becomes a fixture in their rotation as soon as next season.A bloop single from Jose Altuve and a missed play covering first base on Fowler's ground ball gave Ray a test two batters in to his debut, facing runners at the corners and nobody out. He struck out Jason Castro and Chris Carter before ending the inning with a Jesus Guzman groundout and cruised from there.Ray retired 15 out of 17 batters from his first out of the opening inning to his last out of the fifth, allowing only a George Springer infield single and an L.J. Hoes walk in between. He fanned Castro and Carter again his next turn through the order, this time changing speeds, then used a fastball, cutter and slider to strike out Guzman on three pitches.Before the game, manager Brad Ausmus said the game would dictate how deep Ray would pitch, not a pitch count. He headed into the sixth inning with just 76 pitches and no sign of letting up. Two line-drive singles later, including a liner to left by Castro, Ray had runners at the corners and nobody out once more, and Ausmus had his bullpen warming.Ray got a popup from Carter, but Kinsler seemed to take his eye off the ball as he spotted Fowler threatening to tag up from third. Kinsler recovered from the drop to get a forceout at second, but Fowler scored without a throw, giving Houston its first run of the series and ending Ray's night.Ray allowed five hits over 5 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out five. Evan Reed induced a Guzman double play on his first pitch to end the threat.Cabrera's first-inning drive to left-center came one pitch after Torii Hunter was caught stealing at third base. It was a lost run, but Detroit eventually made up for it as part of a long night for Astros starter Brett Oberholtzer (0-6).Hunter, Danny Worth and J.D. Martinez padded Detroit's lead with sacrifice flies in the third, fourth and seventh inning. Cabrera's RBI single drove in Kinsler in the seventh before he slashed a double into the gap in left-center to plate two more as part of a five-run eighth.Jason Beck / MLB.com
Detroit's seventh consecutive win extended its grasp on the American League's best record. Three of those victories have come from starting pitchers other than their front three of Sanchez, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Ray wasn't even the Tigers' sixth starter or insurance man when the season began, taking the nod only when his early success amid struggles everywhere else in the Triple-A Toledo rotation vaulted Ray from top prospect to ready for a taste of Major League hitting.By the time he left, only an Ian Kinsler drop and a Dexter Fowler run kept the 22-year-old left-hander from becoming the first Tiger since Andy Van Hekken in 2002 to deliver five or more shutout innings in his Major League debut.Van Hekken, a 23-year-old lefty at the time of his promotion, threw a shutout against Cleveland on Sept. 3, 2002, and he didn't win another game in his big league career. The Tigers are hoping Ray eventually becomes a fixture in their rotation as soon as next season.A bloop single from Jose Altuve and a missed play covering first base on Fowler's ground ball gave Ray a test two batters in to his debut, facing runners at the corners and nobody out. He struck out Jason Castro and Chris Carter before ending the inning with a Jesus Guzman groundout and cruised from there.Ray retired 15 out of 17 batters from his first out of the opening inning to his last out of the fifth, allowing only a George Springer infield single and an L.J. Hoes walk in between. He fanned Castro and Carter again his next turn through the order, this time changing speeds, then used a fastball, cutter and slider to strike out Guzman on three pitches.Before the game, manager Brad Ausmus said the game would dictate how deep Ray would pitch, not a pitch count. He headed into the sixth inning with just 76 pitches and no sign of letting up. Two line-drive singles later, including a liner to left by Castro, Ray had runners at the corners and nobody out once more, and Ausmus had his bullpen warming.Ray got a popup from Carter, but Kinsler seemed to take his eye off the ball as he spotted Fowler threatening to tag up from third. Kinsler recovered from the drop to get a forceout at second, but Fowler scored without a throw, giving Houston its first run of the series and ending Ray's night.Ray allowed five hits over 5 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out five. Evan Reed induced a Guzman double play on his first pitch to end the threat.Cabrera's first-inning drive to left-center came one pitch after Torii Hunter was caught stealing at third base. It was a lost run, but Detroit eventually made up for it as part of a long night for Astros starter Brett Oberholtzer (0-6).Hunter, Danny Worth and J.D. Martinez padded Detroit's lead with sacrifice flies in the third, fourth and seventh inning. Cabrera's RBI single drove in Kinsler in the seventh before he slashed a double into the gap in left-center to plate two more as part of a five-run eighth.Jason Beck / MLB.com
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