The Houston Astros fell 5-2 to the Detroit Tigers in Game Two of the American League Wild Card Series on Wednesday afternoon inside Minute Maid Park. The loss means Detroit wins the series 2-0 and will move onto the AL Divisional Series.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Hunter Brown took the mound for Houston to start this must-win game. He looked sharp in the first inning, allowing no one to reach in the first inning as he retired the side in order.
Brown was opposed by Tigers’ lefty Tyler Holton, who was used mostly as a reliever throughout the regular season. Holton matched Brown by retiring the side in order to keep the game scoreless through an inning.
Holton turned out to be just an opener, as Detroit went to Brenan Hanifee in the second. Hanifee struggled, giving up a couple of baserunners. Jason Heyward hit two balls that were inches away from being run-scoring hits. However, both fell foul and Heyward eventually struck out to keep the game scoreless.
Brown was able to navigate through Detroit’s lineup throughout the early and middle portions of the contest. He held them scoreless through five innings. However, Detroit finally got to him in the sixth. Parker Meadows launched a solo home run high off of the right field foul pole, making it 1-0 Tigers.
The Tigers’ bullpen approach was extremely effective in this game. They kept Houston off balance, all while never getting more than five outs from any one pitcher. In the bottom of the seventh, they finally ran into trouble. Jackson Jobe allowed the bases to load on a hit by pitch and two singles. Jon Singleton pinch hit and reached on a fielder’s choice with an error when they tried to cut down the run at the plate. Then, Jose Altuve brought home the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly helped by a great slide from Jeremy Pena. That made it 2-1 Astros heading to the eighth.
In that eighth, Ryan Pressly came on and got the first out. However, back-to-back singles put runners on the corners with just one out. Then, Pressly delivered a wild pitch that allowed the tying run to score. The inning would progress, and Houston went to their closer Josh Hader. Hader issues a walk, and then Andy Ibanez pinch-hit. Ibanez cleared the bases with a three-run triple, giving Detroit a 5-2 lead.
In the final two innings, the Houston offense could not find a way to create any offense. They fell 5-2 to close the season.
BIG NUMBER: 6
The Astros offense certainly did not do much in this series. Still, Houston needed six outs from their setup man and closer. They did not get those outs, and they fell in this contest.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Andy Ibanez
A pinch-hit three-run go-ahead triple. There is not much more a player can do off the bench. Ibanez was the difference for Detroit in this series-clinching game.
UP NEXT: The Houston Astros’ 2024 season comes to a close with this loss in the Postseason.