In a thrilling playoff debut, Tarik Skubal led the Detroit Tigers to a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros in the opening game of their AL Wild Card Series on Tuesday. This marks the Tigers’ first postseason win since 2013, breaking a 10-year playoff drought.
The Astros, who entered the ninth inning down 3-0, started to rally with an RBI single from Yanier Diaz. They loaded the bases but were unable to capitalize as Jason Heyward’s lineout ended the game against Beau Brieske.
Skubal, who dominated the game, limited the Astros to just four singles and one walk over six innings. His only real scare came when Diaz’s line drive struck his right wrist, but he recovered to maintain control throughout the game.
Yordan Alvarez returned to the Astros lineup after recovering from a knee injury, hitting a double to kick off the ninth inning. A well-placed infield single by Alex Bregman advanced pinch-runner Zach Dezenzo to third base, but the Astros could not convert the scoring opportunity.
Houston’s ace, Framber Valdez, struggled on the mound, allowing three runs and seven hits across just 4 1/3 innings. Valdez, who had an impressive 2.91 ERA in the regular season, has not found success in the playoffs, continuing his winless streak.
The Tigers jumped ahead in the second inning when Wenceel Pérez led off with a single, followed by Spencer Torkelson’s walk and Parker Meadows’s forceout. Jake Rogers, Trey Sweeney, and Matt Vierling each contributed with consecutive RBI singles, giving Detroit a solid 3-0 lead.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, making a return to Houston after previously leading the Astros to their 2017 championship, emphasized the importance of pressure situations and good at-bats throughout the game.
The Astros, making their eighth consecutive postseason appearance, had been on a remarkable streak of 10 straight wins in playoff openers. Game 2 of the best-of-three series will take place on Wednesday in Houston, with Detroit planning to use an opener strategy while the Astros will start right-hander Hunter Brown.