MLB

Detroit Tigers at Houston Astros

· AL Wild Card - Game 1
Detroit Tigers
86-76, 43-38 Away
Final
3 - 1
Houston Astros
88-73, 46-35 Home

Skubal sensational, Tigers jump on Valdez early to get 3-1 win over Astros in AL Wild Card Series

The Tigers, swept in the American League Division Series in their last trip to the playoffs in 2014, got their first postseason win since Game 4 the 2013 AL Championship Series against Boston.

Down 3-0 entering the ninth, Houston scored on Yanier Diaz's RBI single and had the bases loaded when Jason Heyward hit a game-ending lineout against Beau Brieske.

Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Wednesday in Houston.

Skubal, the AL pitching Triple Crown winner, allowed just four singles and walked one in six innings. About the only hard hit by the Astros off him was one that hit him — the left was struck on his right wrist by Diaz's second-inning comebacker.

“It was a good challenge,” Skubal said. “It was fun. It was a ton of fun. I enjoyed it. It’s probably the most nervous I’ve been since my debut. That was also fun to deal with. What a game. It was fun, glad to come out with a win.”

Yordan Alvarez, playing for the first time since spraining his right knee Sept. 22, doubled off Jason Foley starting the ninth inning. Pinch-runner Zach Dezenzo and moved to third on Alex Bregman's infield single and Diaz singled on a grounder to right.

Jeremy Peña sacrificed, Brieske relieved and Victor Caratini flied out to short left. Chas McCormick and Brieske retired Heyward for the save.

“Skubal has been really good all year,” Espada said. “We had a few chances there in the middle of the game, and we couldn’t capitalize. But credit to him. He made pitches. And we battled until the end. We had a shot there in the ninth, and we just couldn’t get a big hit.”

The AL West champions were hurt by yet another playoff flop from Valdez, who went 0-3 in the postseason last year. Houston’s ace ranked third in the AL with a 2.91 ERA in the regular season but permitted three runs and seven hits in just 4 1/3 innings Tuesday.

Detroit pounced on him in the second. Wenceel Pérez singled with one out before, Spencer Torkelson walked and Parker Meadows grounded into a forceout that left runners at the corners.

Jake Rogers, Trey Sweeney and Matt Vierling hit consecutive RBI singles for a 3-0 lead.

The Tigers had a runner on third with two outs in the third when Peña made a diving catch at shortstop on Torkelson's liner.

It was a return to Houston for Detroit manager A.J. Hinch, who led Houston to a championship in 2017, and the last managed a postseason game in the Astros’ loss in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series.

The following January he was suspended for a year by Major League Baseball and fired the same day for his role in Houston’s sign-stealing scandal.

He joined the Tigers after his suspension was up and guided the team back to the postseason with a 31-13 finish to the regular season.

“We talk about pressure on the bases,” Hinch said. “We talk about good at-bats. We talk about passing the baton. All those things came through with Tarik on the mound too. I don’t think it’s a small thing today in the first playoff game from a lot of these guys that it looked eerily familiar to the last two months.”

The Astros, in the postseason for a franchise-record eighth straight season, had won a MLB-record 10 consecutive postseason openers. They played their 98th postseason game since 2017.

UP NEXT

The Tigers plan to use an opener and then go to their bullpen in Game 2. RHP Hunter Brown (11-9, 3.49) starts for the Astros.

How can I watch Detroit Tigers vs. Houston Astros?
  • TV Channel: Tigers at Astros 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on ABC.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Astros: 56.1%
Tigers: 43.9%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Heyward lined out to first.
9th Inning McCormick walked.
9th Inning Caratini lined out to left.
9th Inning Brieske relieved Foley
9th Inning Peña sacrificed to catcher, Diaz to second, Bregman to third.
9th Inning Diaz singled to right, Dezenzo scored, Bregman to second.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/det.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originDET https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/hou.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originHOU
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
12 Ground Balls 9
10 Strikeouts 10
3 Runs Batted In 1
0 Sacrifice Hit 1
10 Hits 7
1 Stolen Bases 0
6 Walks 2
0 Catcher Interference 0
3 Runs 1
1 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
35 At Bats 33
0 Home Runs 0
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
22 Runners Left On Base 15
0 Triples 0
1 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
2 Doubles 1
13 Fly Balls 15
0 Caught Stealing 0
172 Pitches 148
0 Games Started 0
1 Pinch At Bats 2
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 0
12 Total Bases 8
41 Plate Appearances 36
0.0 Projected Home Runs 0.0
2 Extra Base Hits 1
5.2 Runs Created 2.0
.286 Batting Average .212
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.343 Slugging Percentage .242
.257 Secondary Average .091
.390 On Base Percentage .257
.733 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .500
0.9 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.6
5.4 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 2.0
27.0 Batter Rating 13.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 0.0
1.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
4.20 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.11
.057 Isolated Power .030
0.60 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.20
.146 Walks Per Plate Appearance .056
-.029 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average -.121
6.0 Runs Produced 2.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.3
0.4 Balls In Play Average 0.3
80.0 MLB Rating 67.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Minute Maid Park

Location: Houston, Texas
Attendance: 40,617 | Capacity:

2024 American League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 92 69 .571 - L2
Kansas City 86 76 .531 6.5 W1
Detroit 86 76 .531 6.5 L2
Minnesota 82 80 .506 10.5 L4
Chicago 41 121 .253 51.5 W2

2024 American League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston 88 73 .547 - W2
Seattle 85 77 .525 3.5 W4
Texas 78 84 .481 10.5 W3
Oakland 69 93 .426 19.5 L3
Los Angeles 63 99 .389 25.5 L6
Full Standings