Tarik Skubal leads Tigers to upset Astros in Game 1 of AL Wild Card Series (Video)

Riding an improbable September surge that propelled the team to its first postseason berth in a decade, the Detroit Tigers picked up another memorable victory on Tuesday, defeating the Houston Astros 3-1 in Game 1 of the American League Wild-Card Series .

The Tigers, with a roster full of rookies who barely knew what it meant to still be playing at this point in the calendar, appeared to be much underdogs when they arrived in Houston to face a team that had become synonymous with postseason baseball. But in this ridiculously lopsided matchup, in terms of October experience, left-handed ace Tarik Skubal emerged as Detroit’s best equalizer.

Houston’s squad boasts not only more playoff experience – the Astros’ wild-card squad includes an astonishing 581 career postseason games compared to just 12 for Detroit – but also a much more compelling collection of statistical standouts on both sides of the ball. On paper, the Astros had almost every lead, with one glaring exception: Skubal. And so the 27-year-old southpaw delivered in his first playoff game.

And he did it. Skubal sliced ​​and chopped some of the best bats in the AL with exceptional control over the oppressive four-pitch mix, single-handedly accelerating Detroit to a victory finish with every passing frame.

Dominating the game, Tarik Skubal quickly took a 3-0 lead

This is exactly what it was supposed to be like for the Tigers: their unparalleled ace who lived up to expectations when the team needed him most. And after Skubal quickly sent Houston to the top of just five pitches in the bottom of the first, the Tigers’ bats came alive in the top of the second. Astros starter Framber Valdez was outstanding in the second half of the regular season and made his 16th career playoff start, but his command seemed shaky from the start and the Tigers attacked.

Jake Rogers — a regular-season .197 hitter who earned the Tigers’ starting catcher job on the strength of his defense — struck out first. On a 3-0 pitch with runners on the corners, the Tigers defender opted not to wait and see if the struggling Valdez would get him there, instead taking matters into his own hands with a single to center to give Detroit a 1-0 lead. Interestingly, the 29-year-old Rogers is Detroit’s longest-tenured player, having made his MLB debut in 2019, just two years after the Tigers acquired him – that’s right – from Houston in a blockbuster deal with Justin Verlander at the ballpark in 2017 trade deadline.

Next was Trey Sweeney. The rookie shortstop hit Valdez’s sinker for a 1-0 lead to lead off the next run. Amidst all the talk about selling Detroit in July, a Tigers player came up acquired in the deal that sent Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers, which had an immediate impact in the postseason.

Then it was Matt Vierling’s turn. As the lone player on Detroit’s lineup with postseason experience, Vierling had some familiarity with Valdez, having faced him in Game 6 of the 2022 World Series against Philadelphia. After two hits, he changed the middle of the field and increased the score to 3-0 for Detroit.

Houston’s early three-run lead over the Astros lineup isn’t a particularly comfortable lead in most cases. However, when Skubal was on top, Detroit seemed to be in control.

The left-handed ace didn’t have many moments of concern during his masterful performance. Yainer Diaz’s return shot in the second missed Skubal’s glove, but he managed to recover and record the out, then quickly assured his manager not to worry before calmly finishing the rest of the frame.

The Astros then made Skubal sweat with traffic on the bases during a 29-pitch fourth inning, but he responded emphatically by striking out Jeremy Peña and Victor Caratini, both after his wicked inning. He appeared to fix his back on a 100-mph fastball to Alex Bregman in the sixth, but Skubal again sent Hinch and head track and field coach Ryne Eubanks back to the dugout before striking out Diaz on a 99-mile heater per hour, ending the frame.

“It’s intense, but it’s under control,” Hinch said later. “He’s competitive, but he’s a thinking man’s pitcher. He has a gun. He’s the complete package of a guy you want to anchor a chick to.”

The fastball that sent Diaz to the dugout turned out to be Skubal’s last pitch of the day — after the game, Hinch revealed Skubal was struggling with cramps — and Hinch called his bullpen to pitch the final three frames. Skubal’s latest homer in his first career playoff start is a fitting follow-up to a stellar regular season that will soon earn him the AL Cy Young Award: six innings, four hits allowed, one walk and six strikeouts. Of his 88 pitches, 73% of them were strikes.

“You see him screaming from the mound, so competitive,” Hinch continued. “We see it every day and I’m glad the baseball world can see it on the biggest stage of the year so far because it’s authentic and has a real impact on our club.”

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A dramatic 9th inning gave the Astros hope

With several unique options at Hinch’s disposal, it was not immediately clear in what order Detroit’s top support arms would be deployed over the final three rounds. Will Vest came out first and performed admirably, striking out four of the five batters he faced, and leaving Detroit with just five outs remaining, departing in the eighth to Tyler Holton. The Holton lefty forced Kyle Tucker to end the eighth inning, setting the stage for Jason Foley to close out the ninth with a three-run lead.

Then the plan started to fall apart. Yordan Alvarez, despite his limp and still struggling with a sprained knee, led off with a strong counterattack to left field, another surprising reminder of his spectacular strength on the field. Bregman then hit an infield single, and then Diaz hit a single to right for Houston’s first goal of the game. The Astros came to life and the volume in Minute Maid Park began to increase.

After Peña’s bunt moved Bregman and Diaz into scoring position, Foley left. Righty Beau Brieske came in and made another playoff debut for Detroit. Brieske is a former 26th-round draft pick who has played in countless roles for the Tigers this season, including 12 games as an opener. This match was his finishing touch.

Caratini made a shallow hit to left field for the second out. With one on the left side, Brieske turned up the heat against Chas McCormick, trying to slam the door, but to no avail. McCormick burned two 100.1 mph heaters – the two hardest pitches of Brieske’s career – and walked to load the bases for Jason Heyward.

Heyward, who joined Houston in late August after being released by the Dodgers, has given the Astros some big changes in the weeks since joining the club. And for a split second it looked like he had delivered another one. But in the blink of an eye, a line drive hit by Heyward to right field hit first baseman Spencer Torkelson’s glove with a third out, and the game was over.

After six rounds that went smoothly with Skubal, things got a little dangerous towards the end. But as has happened repeatedly over the last six weeks, the Tigers found a way to win.

Game 2 involves “chaos on the field” for the Tigers and a must-win for the Astros

For Houston, Tuesday was its sixth straight postseason home loss, beginning with the Astros losing all four games against Texas in last year’s ALCS and Game 3 of the ALDS against Minnesota. It’s a troubling trend that will need to be reversed on Wednesday if the Astros are going to extend their season another day – let alone keep alive their dream of reaching the ALCS for an eighth straight October.

In Game 2, the Astros will hand the ball to Hunter Brown, a breakout right-hander with a 2.32 ERA over his last 13 starts in October – a great option considering what’s at stake. What about the Tigers? It’s expected to be Holton – yes, the same pitcher who came on against Tucker in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game. Because of course it will!

Hinch is fully aware of the extent to which his team’s hurling strategy deviates from the norm and has no problem admitting it. As he joked Monday, the game plan against Detroit was: “Tarik Skubal tomorrow and it’s going to be chaos the rest of the way – that’s pretty much how it’s been for the last two months.”

Skubal did his part; that was the first step. The Tigers, who will need to use their four best weapons to secure Game 1, could complicate how “chaos” spreads from there, but that’s a trade-off that Hinch and Co. will make. he will happily agree. Hinch and his squad are just one victory away from eliminating their former employer and advancing to the ALDS, where the AL Central rival Rangers await. This next win will certainly require a good dose of mixing and matching on the mound, but as Hinch noted, it’s nothing new.

Besides, it’s a problem for Wednesday. So far, everything has gone according to plan – something teams can rarely say at this time of year. That’s the luxury of having a pitcher like Skubal by your side.