The Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers are battling the the best-of-three American League Wild Card Series this week at Houston's Minute Maid Park. The Tigers, behind ace Tarik Skubal, won Game 1 on Tuesday, pushing Houston to the brink of elimination. The Astros, who have made it to the ALCS seven years in a row, need to win to games in a row to keep their season alive. That starts with Game 2 on Wednesday afternoon.
The Astros are part of the postseason fray for the eighth straight year. The Tigers, meanwhile, are making their first playoff appearance since 2014.
Check out the full MLB playoff bracket. The Astros-Tigers Wild Card Series schedule is below:
| Date | Start time/result | TV | |
|---|---|---|---|
Game 1 | Tues., Oct. 1 | DET 3, HOU 1 | ABC/fubo (try for free) |
Game 2 | Weds., Oct. 2 | 2:32 p.m. ET | ABC/fubo (try for free) |
Game 3 (if necessary) | Thurs., Oct. 3 | 2:32 p.m. ET | ABC/fubo (try for free) |
Where to watch Game 2
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 2 | Time: 2:32 p.m. ET
Location: Minute Maid Park (Houston)
Channel: ABC | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Probable pitchers: RHP Hunter Brown (11-9, 3.49 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Holton (7-2, 2.19 ERA)
Odds: HOU -170 | DET +143 | O/U: 7.5
Game 1 was a clash of aces, as AL Cy Young frontrunner Tarik Skubal bested Houston's Framber Valdez. In Game 2, the Tigers will turn to an opener, Tyler Holton, though that title conjures an image that doesn't properly give credit to Holton's brilliance this year. Detroit manager AJ Hinch called his pitching plan "chaos." Holton will try to provide some calm. The Astros will counter with Detroit native Hunter Brown in a do-or-die game. Brown's early returns were so awful that the Astros considered demoting him to Triple-A, but instead sent him to the bullpen to see if he could rediscover himself. He did in the form of a sinker. In 23 starts between May 17 and Sept. 23, Brown had a 2.48 ERA in 137 2/3 innings while allowing just 12 home runs.
Here now is what you need to know about each team.
Tigers: The Tigers are in the playoffs for the first time in a decade, and it was an unlikely run. They were nine games under .500 as recently as the Fourth of July, and they were 16 games out of first place in the AL Central as recently as Aug. 2. They were not expected to contend this season, and that's indeed how things looked for quite a while. Detroit went 47-50 in the first half, and leading up to the trade deadline they behaved like sellers, particularly with the deal that sent No. 2 starter Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers. In the second half, however, the Tigers went 39-26 with a plus-47 run differential. That surge allowed them to pass the Twins for the final playoff spot.
The subplot for the Tigers is manager A.J. Hinch. Hinch spent five seasons as manager of the Astros and guided them to the World Series crown -- the first in franchise history -- in 2017. Hinch was fired as part of the fallout from the sign-stealing scandal and then suspended by MLB for the entire 2020 season. Then the Tigers gave him a shot at redemption, and now he gets a "revenge series" of sorts against the team he led to glory not so long ago.
Astros: The Astros will be trying to make it at least as far as the ALCS for the eighth straight season. That makes them the closest thing we've got to a modern MLB dynasty. They'll also be angling for their third World Series title in those last eight years. Things didn't start swimmingly for Houston this season under first-year manager Joe Espada. At one point in early May, they were 12 games below .500, and as late as June 18 they trailed the Mariners by 10 games in the AL West. However, the rotation got healthy, Alex Bregman found his level, and the Astros surged. Recent history teaches us not to doubt them in October.
