Inge: Game-changer (c) Associated Press

Hunter Pence drilled a double down the left field line in the fourth which a fan reached over and touched, trying for a souvenir. Jeff Keppinger and Carlos Lee scored but the illegal touching sent Lee back to third where he stayed until the inning died. The fan was ejected from the ballpark.

Excuse me while I rant for a moment. This is the second time in a less than a month where some "fan" at Minute Maid interfered with a ball in play. Could we require fans on the lower level to pass an IQ or a TAAS test before getting seats along the foul lines? I mean, shouldn't you have the intelligence of a squirrel before you are allowed to sit in those seats? The Astros commit too many self-inflicted wounds as it is without their fans joining in.

So, rather than leading 4-2 in the top of the ninth, the Astros led only by one run. That brings us to the other disaster of the day. Jose Valverde was brought in to close it out. One out away from a sweep, Valverde walked Marcus Thames then served up a fastball to Brandon Inge who slugged it for a two-run blast that gave Detroit the lead. Fernando Rodney then sealed the win, give the Tigers a 4-3 victory.

All of this made nil another wonderful effort by a starting pitcher. Russ Ortiz was the victim this time, allowing just two runs on six hits over 7-1/3rd innings. As a non-roster signee when the year began, the former All-Star has proved his worth as much as anyone in the Houston rotation.

Still in fifth place, the Astros now wing their way to California for the week. Roy Oswalt (3-4) will start it off in San Diego for a four-game mid-week duel with the Padres. Josh Geer (1-2) will be his mound opponent in the 9:05 Central start Tuesday. One of the two losses the Dallas-born Geer has suffered this year came against Houston.