The Detroit Tigers secured a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series, holding off a late rally from the AL West champions. The win marks Detroit’s first postseason triumph since 2013, when they won Game 4 of the AL Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox.
Detroit’s win was powered by a sensational playoff debut from Tarik Skubal, the American League’s pitching Triple Crown winner. Skubal dominated, allowing just four singles and one walk across six scoreless innings, while striking out seven. His only real scare came in the second inning when he was struck on the wrist by a comebacker off the bat of Houston’s Yanier Diaz, though Skubal stayed in the game and maintained his composure.
The Tigers‘ offense got to Astros ace Framber Valdez early, scoring all three of their runs in the second inning. Wenceel Pérez started the rally with a single, followed by a walk to Spencer Torkelson. Although Parker Meadows grounded into a forceout, Detroit still capitalized, as Jake Rogers, Trey Sweeney, and Matt Vierling strung together consecutive RBI singles to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. Valdez, who ranked third in the AL with a 2.91 ERA during the regular season, struggled mightily, lasting just 4 1/3 innings and allowing seven hits and three runs.
The Tigers had another opportunity in the third inning, but Houston shortstop Jeremy Peña made a brilliant diving catch to rob Torkelson of a potential RBI, keeping the game within reach for Houston.
Down 3-0 entering the bottom of the ninth, the Astros staged a dramatic comeback attempt. Yordan Alvarez, playing in his first game since spraining his right knee on September 22, led off with a double off reliever Jason Foley. Pinch-runner Zach Dezenzo advanced to third on Alex Bregman’s infield single, and Yanier Diaz followed with an RBI single to right field, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
With runners on first and second and nobody out, Detroit manager A.J. Hinch turned to Beau Brieske to close out the game. Brieske got Jeremy Peña to sacrifice the runners over, then induced a shallow flyout from Victor Caratini, which was too short for Dezenzo to score from third. With the bases loaded after a walk to Chas McCormick, Jason Heyward came up with a chance to deliver the game-winning hit. However, Brieske secured the final out by inducing a lineout to end the game, sealing the Tigers’ thrilling win.
The victory had extra significance for Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who returned to Houston for the first time in the postseason since he managed the Astros to a World Series title in 2017. Hinch, fired and suspended for a year in the aftermath of Houston’s sign-stealing scandal, guided Detroit back to the playoffs with a blistering 31-13 finish to the regular season.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series is set for Wednesday in Houston, with the Tigers looking to advance to the AL Division Series, while the Astros will try to keep their postseason hopes alive.
South Florida Media Comments