HOUSTON — One down.
One to go.
The Detroit Tigers held on for a thrilling 3-1 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday at Minute Maid Park in Game 1 of their American League wild-card series. It was the opening game of the 2024 MLB playoffs.
But it didn’t come without hold-your-breath drama.
The Tigers held a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth, and Tigers manager A.J. Hinch turned to closer Jason Foley.
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Yordan Alvarez doubled off the left field wall, and Alex Bregman hit an infield single.
Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter came to the mound before Foley faced Yainer Diaz, who dribbled a grounder to the right side for an RBI single after a third strike foul tip was overturned.
With runners on second and third with one out, Hinch pulled Foley and turned to Beau Brieske.
He got Victor Caratini to line out to left field, then walked Chas McCormick to load the bases.
But Jason Heyward lined out to Spencer Torkelson at first base to the end the game.
The Tigers can finish off the Astros and advance to the ALDS with a victory Wednesday in Game 2 (2:32 p.m. ET, ABC).
Starting pitchers have yet to be announced.
Game 3, if necessary, is Thursday at the same time and place. The Cleveland Guardians await the series winner Saturday in Game 1.
Tigers ace lefty and AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal threw six shutout innings in his playoff debut, after becoming the first pitcher in 13 years to win the AL pitching Triple Crown in a full season.
Here’s what else stood out from Tuesday’s heart-pumping game:
Tarik Skubal’s brilliance
Skubal was brilliant on Tuesday afternoon.
In the biggest game of his life, Skubal handled the nerves of his playoff debut, overcame a line drive that knocked off his glove, powered his way out of trouble a few times and shut down the Astros.
Skubal threw six scoreless innings, scattered four hits, struck out six and exited after 88 pitches (64 strikes) with the Tigers up 3-0.
But there were a couple of strange scares.
In the second inning, the Tigers were set up perfectly. They had a 3-0 lead and Skubal’s pitch count was ridiculously low — he threw just five pitches in the first inning.
But the Tigers suffered a scare when Diaz hit a line drive back at Skubal and his glove came off. For a moment, it looked like Skubal was injured, and he looked disappointed and dejected.
But he stayed in the game and struck out Jeremy Peña.
“He just needed a breather,” Hinch told ABC during the fourth inning.
“He’s doing fine,” Hinch added. “He’s got a great compete button.”
On Sept. 12, Skubal had a similar scare when he was hit in the right (non throwing) hand against the Colorado Rockies off a line drive by Brenton Doyle.
But he avoided serious injury both times.
And he showed that competitive drive late in the game.
Skubal got into a massive jam in the fourth inning, facing Pena with two on and one out.
Fetter came to the mound for a visit, and seemed to calm down Skubal. He struck out Peña and then retired Caratini.
There was another strange scare in the sixth inning when Skubal stopped the game, calling out Jake Rogers to the mound.
Hinch and a trainer came out to check on Skubal, and he threw a warmup pitch to make sure he was OK.
Then, Bregman singled high off the left-field wall, just missing a homer.
But Skubal got out of the trouble by striking out Diaz on three pitches, his last a 99 mph fastball above the zone, and let out a roar.
Hustle pays off with rally
Parker Meadows’ legs played a subtle, yet critical role in the Tigers taking the early lead.
In the second inning, he hustled to first and beat out a throw, preventing a double play that would have ended the inning.
And it seemed to spark the Tigers.
At the very least, it kept the door open.
Rogers, Trey Sweeney and Matt Vierling all singled with two outs, as the Tigers took a 3-0 lead.
And it all started because Meadows hustled down to first base, a theme jump-started in early August, when third base coach Joey Cora called an ‘intense’ team meeting on baserunning.
Playoff newbies? So what?
Coming into this game, the disparity of playoff experience between the Tigers and Astros was stunning.
Vierling was the only Tiger on the playoff roster with postseason experience (he played in 12 playoff games for Philadelphia in 2022).
Meanwhile, the Astros had all kinds of experience throughout their roster.
It was Jose Altuve’s 104th playoff game, and he has had 476 plate appearances.
Bregman?
It was his 98th playoff game.
But it was the playoff newbies who were making the plays, getting the hits, driving in runs and making the big pitches.
The Tigers showed no playoff jitters.
No crumbling under pressure.
They just threw strikes.
And got a bunch of singles that turned into runs to take the early lead.
And they held that composure through the pressure packed ninth.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.