With a tantalizing pitching matchup of young aces like Hunter Brown of the Astros and Tarik Skubal of the Tigers, it’s not surprising runs were hard to come by Tuesday night. For Houston, it’s becoming all too commonplace.

While the winner won't automatically earn the Cy Young, it would be a great boost to their candidacy. But in Skubal's ideal world, he wouldn't have to face Brown, as he wishes that Brown were suiting up for the Tigers instead of pitching against them.

Brown is prepping for his latest Detroit homecoming. Friends and family will fill the stands. And something about this one feels different.

The last time Hunter Brown pitched here, he was on the verge of losing his job. Now the Detroit native is an ace with Skubal-like numbers.

It's strong praise from Skubal, as he says Brown's stuff is the ideal repertoire for a starting pitcher. But that wasn't all Skubal had to say about Brown, as he also wished that Brown could be a Tiger rather than facing him as an Astro.

To put Brown's recent stretch into perspective, the current AL Cy Young frontrunner, Tarik Skubal, has posted a 3.56 ERA over the same stretch, while the consensus second-place runner at the moment, Garrett Crochet, has an ERA sitting at 3.91.

Hunter Brown pitched into the seventh inning and the Josh Hader-less bullpen held it down to make it three straight series wins for the Astros.

Hunter Brown allowed only a run in 6 2/3 innings for his 10th victory, Jeremy Peña and Yainer Diaz homered and the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1 on Wednesday night.

Ahead of their highly anticipated matchup, Brown shared high praise for Skubal, but also believes the Astros' lineup can hit the Tigers' pitcher. It won't be easy. Skubal is dominant, and the Astros' offense has struggled lately.

For the first time since the 1985 season, the Astros have been shut out in three consecutive games after losing in 10 innings Tuesday.

Brown's four-seam fastball has the second-highest mark in baseball. It is, by most public metrics, one of the best pitches in the game.