Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch wanted his team to represent their hometown. a team that was diligent and never gave up, but above all, one with fortitude.
They entered October in such a manner and simply never stopped.
In Game 2 of their AL Wild Card Series on Wednesday, the Detroit Tigers defeated the Houston Astros 5-2, led by a tiebreaking three-run double by Andy Ibáñez in the eighth inning.
In a clubhouse doused in prosecco, a triumphant Hinch declared, “Our city is built on grit. That’s what it is. I remember saying that I wanted to have a team that this city is proud of. I think the city is pretty proud of what we’re doing and how we’re doing it and the fight that this team shows.”
With a home run by Parker Meadows, Detroit broke Houston’s seven-game winning streak in the AL Championship Series. For Hinch, who guided Houston to a championship in 2017 then was ousted following the Astros’ sign-stealing controversy, it was a bittersweet moment.
“This is what you play for,” he stated. “Baseball’s great.”
The wild-card Tigers’ next assignment is to go to Cleveland to play the AL Central winners in a best-of-five AL Division Series. Saturday is when Game 1 takes place.
“Regardless that nobody was rooting for us, regardless that nobody was putting us in the playoffs in a good spot, we didn’t care,” Ibáñez stated. “We just put in hard work … to make the results come.”
Kerry Carpenter, who converted his previous 14 playoff save attempts, started Detroit’s eighth-inning rally with a single with one out off of Ryan Pressly (0-1). Matt Vierling singled Carpenter to third base, and he scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at two.
Colt Keith reached on a two-out walk, Pressly left, and Josh Hader, the closer, walked Spencer Torkelson to load the bases. Zach McKinstry was subsequently put up to bat by Hinch, and he lined a 1-2 sinker into the left corner for a 5-2 advantage.
Since September 10, Ibáñez had not driven in a race. In September, he only batted.167.
After scoring on Ibáñez’s clutch swing, Vierling, Keith, and Torkelson celebrated with a round of applause and high fives. Ibáñez grinned as he reached second place, raising his arms above his head.
In 1 1/3 innings, Hader—who in January inked a $95 million, five-year deal with Houston—allowed three singles and walked two.
In the day following Triple Crown winner Tarik Skubal’s victory in the series opener, Detroit used seven different pitchers. In Game 2, Will Vest closed out the ninth inning to record the save. Sean Guenther pitched 1 2/3 innings to earn the victory.
For the first time since 2014, Detroit also received a solo home run in the sixth inning from Meadows, which enabled the team to win a playoff series for the first time since the 2013 ALDS.
Before Detroit’s 31-13 run in the last stretch of the regular season—aided in part by Hinch’s guidance, as he has some experience with October success from his time with the Astros—just making it to the playoffs appeared unlikely.
Since the Wild Card Series’ inception in 2002, eight of the first nine have been sweepstakes. For the Tigers, it’s their fourth playoff sweep; they’ve already won the AL Championship Series in 1984, 2006, and 2012.
Though they took a lead in the seventh inning, the Astros dropped their seventh straight postseason game at home. During their ALCS run, Houston won two crowns and made four trips to the World Series.
With no outs, Mauricio Dubón loaded the bases with a bunt single. First baseman Torkelson retrieved a chopper hit by pinch hitter Jon Singleton, who threw home from his knees. Victor Caratini was not going to be defeated by the throw, which was in front of the plate.
Caratini touched home to tie the game at one, and Torkelson, who had been given an error on the play, slammed the ground in frustration. After that, Altuve hit a flyball that Vierling grabbed in foul area in right, but Jeremy Peña was too fast for him to beat with his throw home.
Yordan Alvarez, the designated hitter for Houston, made a comeback for this series after missing time due to a right knee sprain on September 22.
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Despite having two hits on Tuesday, he was obviously still dealing with the injury as he went 0 for 3 with a walk in Game 2.
When asked if he would have participated if they had been regular-season games, he responded, “That’s a really good question, I don’t know.”
When Meadows launched his home run off the foul pole in right field to begin the sixth inning, Houston starter Hunter Brown had given up just one hit, a double in the second.
Brown’s first postseason start came after he had struck out nine in five and a third innings.
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