DETROIT -- A.J. Hinch has seen the Astros on a roll like this before, having managed them for five seasons. He also has ideas on how to stop them, having swept them in a three-game series in Houston in April.

“This is a very momentum-driven team,” the first-year Tigers manager said before Thursday’s 12-3 loss at Comerica Park. “You've got to win the first three innings and then put a lot of pressure on them the rest of the game.”

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That didn’t happen Thursday, in part because the reigning veteran of Detroit’s rotation struggled for a third consecutive start. And as the Astros extended their winning streak to 11 games, the Tigers -- whose winning streak ended at three -- were left to ponder what’s next for José Ureña.

In a rotation with three rookies -- including recently promoted Matt Manning -- and Wily Peralta still building up innings, Ureña is the one member who hasn’t completed five innings in his most recent turn. After this 3 2/3-inning effort, he has tossed 9 2/3 innings over his past three starts, allowing 18 earned runs on 20 hits in that span since returning from a right forearm strain.

“The way he’s throwing is a concern,” Hinch said. “We’d like him to be better. We’d like him to get deeper into games. And he’s going to keep working. He hasn’t looked the same since his injury, but he says he’s healthy.”

Ureña reiterated his health after Thursday’s outing.

“Got to keep your head up, keep fighting all day,” Ureña said, “because sometimes, that’s the game. In a long season, you’ll be up and down. It’s tough when you’ve been struggling, but you have to keep your mind right and try to do the best you can and keep working hard.”

The metrics weren’t much better than the results, but they might provide a glimpse behind the struggles. Ureña's fastball spin rates were down 152 rpm on his four-seam fastball and 171 rpm on his two-seamer from his season averages, according to Statcast, while his slider was down 271 rpm. His rates have been down from season averages in each of his three starts since his return.

“He got up to 95 [mph] today. Velocity seems to be there,” Hinch said. “Some of them come out a little bit less than that, so I don’t know if it’s a mental or physical issue for him.”

Ureña said his slider has been inconsistent. When he went on the injured list, he said the forearm strain near his wrist was something he has experienced when throwing a lot of breaking balls.

“The slider is sometimes bouncing,” Ureña said. “It’s a little tough to get the rhythm."

Ureña is no stranger to struggles like this. He walked nine batters over 7 2/3 innings in his first two starts before looking dominant from mid-April into May. But the Tigers had other veteran starters to cover them and save their bullpen early in the season while Ureña worked out his issues.

With Matthew Boyd out until after the All-Star break and Spencer Turnbull just beginning a throwing progression, Detroit is leaning on continued progress from Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Manning to keep it from a pitching crunch like the one that led it to use catcher Jake Rogers and infielder Harold Castro as pitchers in the same game after the White Sox chased Ureña in the second inning on June 12.

Once Yordan Alvarez powered the Astros into double digits with a ninth-inning grand slam, Castro took the mound again. This time, he shifted over from shortstop, where he had played the entire game. He became the first position player to pitch at least three games for the Tigers since at least 1963. All three appearances have been in games Ureña started.

Those injuries to Boyd and Turnbull arguably leave the Tigers with few alternatives to sticking with Ureña through the process for now. They simply don’t have the pitching depth left. They could flip him with lefty swingman Tyler Alexander, but Alexander hasn’t been stretched out much. Michael Fulmer is now the closer, while Daniel Norris has worked in relief all season.

Even if Ureña can’t get back to his prime form from early this season, the Tigers need to get him back to inning-eating form. He showed a glimpse of that in Thursday’s first inning, retiring the top of the Astros' order on five pitches. His next 77 garnered only eight outs.

Ureña didn’t get help from his infield defense. Willi Castro’s two-out error continued the second and led to Martín Maldonado's two-run single in what ended up being a 29-pitch inning for Ureña. Houston’s two-run third included four ground-ball singles through Detroit’s infield before Ureña hit Abraham Toro with the bases loaded to plate another run.