The ball soared off Jason Heyward’s bat, and for a brief moment on Tuesday afternoon, it looked like the Astros might pull off a dramatic comeback. However, when Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson caught the final out in the ninth inning, the exhilaration quickly turned to disappointment.
Now, the Astros find themselves in a precarious situation.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Heyward hit a line drive that ended Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series at Minute Maid Park, allowing the resilient Tigers to secure a 3-1 victory—Detroit’s first postseason win since 2013.
“Games are often decided by inches, right?” said Astros manager Joe Espada. “If he hits that ball a few inches or feet higher, it could land in the corner, and [Chas] McCormick could score from first. … Those guys never quit, so I’m not surprised by our push at the end.”
Historically, in the brief best-of-three Wild Card Series, teams that win Game 1 have advanced 14 out of 16 times. Among the 10 teams to take Game 1 on the road, eight have won the series, with seven of those being sweeps. The Astros, who have reached the AL Championship Series for seven straight years, now face an unusual must-win scenario in early October.
“I know this team,” McCormick stated. “We can come through. We had good momentum at the end, and that will carry over.”
In Game 2 on Wednesday afternoon, the Astros will send Detroit native Hunter Brown to the mound, aiming to tie the series and end their six-game postseason losing streak at home. A win would set up a decisive Game 3 on Thursday, with Yusei Kikuchi starting for Houston.
“It’s great to know my manager has confidence in me in this situation,” Brown said, who finished the regular season with a 10-4 record and a 2.20 ERA, including 15 quality starts in his last 19 outings. “I’ve been preparing for this, and I’m excited for the opportunity.”
The Astros struggled against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who won the AL pitching Triple Crown this season by leading in wins, strikeouts, and ERA. Skubal held Houston scoreless for six innings, while Astros ace Framber Valdez had difficulty finding his rhythm, throwing 18 balls among his first 35 pitches.
“I missed my pitches and fell behind too many hitters, but I tried to keep the game close at three runs,” Valdez said. “I did what I could.”
Valdez, making his 16th postseason start, had been excellent in the second half of the season, with the Astros winning 14 of his final 16 starts. However, he struggled on Tuesday, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings.
“I thought his overall stuff was good,” Espada commented. “His sinker was up in the zone a bit, and they capitalized on it. He battled through five innings and kept us in the game.”
Valdez ended the first inning with a double play but encountered trouble in the second with runners on first and second and one out. He got the ground ball he wanted from Parker Meadows, but Meadows sprinted down the line, beating out the double play. This proved crucial, as the Tigers then strung together three consecutive two-out singles to take a 3-0 lead.
“We focused on not trying to do too much,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. “Sometimes, you have to just play the game and see where it leads you.”
The Astros aimed to be aggressive against Skubal, but their early attempts resulted in a quick 1-2-3 inning. They had two runners on in the third and fourth innings but failed to capitalize. Skubal completed another five-pitch inning in the fifth and finished with 88 pitches. Notably, only two other pitchers since 2000 had managed two innings with five pitches or fewer in a postseason start.
Houston’s struggles continued against the Tigers’ bullpen, where Will Vest replaced Skubal and struck out four of the five batters he faced, including three looking. However, in the ninth inning, the Astros rallied with hits from Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, and Yainer Diaz, who provided an RBI single.
With the crowd at Minute Maid Park on their feet, McCormick, in his first at-bat since September 10, drew a walk to load the bases for Heyward, who hit a hard line drive right at Torkelson.
“Everyone did an outstanding job to put us in that position,” Heyward reflected. “That’s the essence of trusting the process, grinding it out, and having great at-bats. Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way, and that’s the game.”
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