Bullpen runs dry

HOUSTON -- Bobby Seay and Brandon Lyon were unavailable for relief work here Friday night for the Detroit Tigers , and that made all the difference in a 5-4 loss that broke a seven-game winning streak. Seay had pitched in four straight games and Lyon in four of five, and so it was up to Joel Zumaya to try to get past the Houston Astros in the eighth inning. He couldn't do it. Zumaya gave up a one-out single to Kaz Matsui before walking three consecutive Astros on full-count pitches. Freddy Dolsi came on to get a pair of fly ball outs and end the inning, but a sacrifice fly by Miguel Tejada put Houston ahead for the first time in the game. "He hasn't been throwing strikes and you have to throw strikes up here," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. Placido Polanco's three-run home run off Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez in the second inning gave Tigers starter Justin Verlander a 4-0 lead. "You get off to a 4-0 lead with your horse going," Leyland said. "But your horse wasn't sharp and we didn't throw strikes." Leyland also blamed failure to add runs after the second inning. Magglio Ordonez hit into an inning-ending, bases-loaded double play in the fifth and Detroit stranded 11 runners. Polanco has three homers in his last six games, and hit .308 on the just-completed, home stand. He's showing signs of once again becoming a consistent threat in the No. 2 hole. Though, Polanco has a history of producing against National League teams. He entered the game batting .326 in 149 games in interleague play, ranking 11th among active players. Polanco had only one homer through June 17. He's never hit more than nine homers for Detroit, but entered this season batting .320 as a Tiger . Polanco was at .265 before Friday night's game. Verlander had only one 1-2-3 inning and required 118 pitches to go 5 innings. "Verlander was totally, totally out of whack," Leyland said. "He didn't have his good stuff, and wasn't using all his pitches. He did not feel comfortable with his curveball." But he was effective when it mattered most, avoiding big innings to leave with a 4-3 lead. He struck out an aggressive Hunter Pence with the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning. However, Pence singled and Tejada doubled to drive in Houston's first runs in the third inning. But, with two on and two out, Verlander struck out old battery mate Ivan Rodriguez. Rodriguez struck out twice against Verlander before doubling to right field to start the sixth inning. Pinch-hitter Matt Kata singled in Rodriguez and that was all for Verlander. Verlander had six strikeouts to improve his season total to 124. That tied him with San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum for the major league lead. Verlander continued a trend of being average in most road games and brilliant in most home assignments. He's 4-0 with a 1.11 ERA at Comerica Park, but 4-3 with a 4.88 ERA on the road. Trouble is, 10 of his 16 starts have been on the road. Zach Miner finished off the Astros in the sixth inning without allowing a run. Miguel Cabrera opened the scoring with a long solo homer in the first inning, and Detroit has hit at least one round-tripper in 10 consecutive games. The Tigers have not done that since hitting homers in 10 straight from July 20-28, 2007