Tigers vs. Astros AL Wild Card Series Game 1 starting lineups and pitching matchup

HOUSTON -- Nine years after he led the Astros to a surprising playoff run that ushered in the golden era of baseball in Houston, A.J. Hinch will return to Minute Maid Park to try to end the Astros’ season as the manager of the upstart Tigers.

“Baseball, I'll tell you, it's going to take you places,” Hinch said, “and sometimes it's going to take you places where you've been. So I look forward to the challenge.”

The Tigers and Astros will open the best-of-three American League Wild Card Series on Tuesday at Minute Maid Park, where Hinch’s return will be the dominating storyline. But both of these teams made remarkable comebacks to reach the playoffs -- the Astros becoming the first team in the expansion era to start a 162-game season with a 7-19 record and make the playoffs, winning their seventh AL West title in eight seasons.

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Meanwhile, the Tigers were 55-63 on Aug. 10 and had a 0.2 percent chance at a postseason spot, according to FanGraphs, and then went on a 31-13 finishing kick, losing the final two games of the regular season after clinching a Wild Card spot. The Astros went 4-2 against the Tigers in the regular season, but they haven’t played against each other in 3 1/2 months.

“They’re playing really well, obviously,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Strong push there at the end. We have some success against them during the regular season, but postseason is a completely different ballgame. We’re going to go home and prepare ourselves for a series against a really good ballclub.”

Postseason FAQ: What's next for the Astros?

Hinch managed the Astros from 2015-19, leading them to four playoff appearances, including two AL pennants and the 2017 World Series championship. He hired Espada as his bench coach prior to the 2018 season and knows the Astros really well. Third baseman Alex Bregman, second baseman Jose Altuve, right fielder Kyle Tucker, Game 1 starter Framber Valdez and reliever Ryan Pressly are among the Astros who played under him.

Postseason FAQ: What's next for Tigers?

“He knows some of our style and strengths,” Espada said. “I’m sure that he’s going to prepare his team well. We also know his style, so we just have to play our game. We’ve been playing really good baseball. We’re going to face some pretty good pitching, especially one on Tuesday. [Tarik] Skubal is really, really tough. If we do our work and we prepare and we go play our game, we’ve been on that stage before. That’s something that helps us. We know how to play postseason baseball. We get another opportunity to show that we can get it done when it really matters.”

A playoff-tested Astros team has played in 97 postseason games since 2017, which is 24 more than any other team; the Tigers are in the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

“We don’t have a ton of it,” Hinch said of playoff experience. “The only way to get experience is to get there. We made the playoffs, and we’re about to have a room full of guys that have experience. Right now, I’m going to downplay it. When we play our first playoff game, I’m going to tell you we’re experienced enough.”

When is the game and how can I watch it?

Game 1 is set to begin Tuesday at 2:32 p.m. ET/1:32 CT, with the broadcast airing on ABC.

Who are the starting pitchers?

Tigers: LHP Tarik Skubal
Who else was it going to be? Not only is Skubal the American League’s first pitching Triple Crown winner in a full season since Justin Verlander in 2011, but he was also the Tigers’ only set starter for the full season thanks to injuries, trades and Detroit’s late-season reliance on openers and bulk pitchers. He led AL pitchers with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA, 228 strikeouts and a 6.3 bWAR, and he posted nine outings of seven or more innings with two runs or less allowed. He had two 2-1 victories and a 1-0 win. The 27-year-old – a ninth-round pick in the 2018 Draft – has become the face and voice of an upstart young team and will make his first career postseason start, becoming the first Tigers pitcher to start a playoff game since David Price in Game 3 of the 2014 AL Division Series.

Astros: LHP Framber Valdez
Valdez put together a strong season, buoyed by a big second half. He went 15-7 with a 2.91 ERA with 169 strikeouts in 176 1/3 innings this year. He started throwing his curveball more in the middle of the season and went 10-2 with a 2.19 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in his final 16 starts, with the Astros going 14-2 in those games. After a great postseason in which he helped the Astros win the World Series in 2022, he will be looking to rebound from his woeful October performance last year (0-3, 9.00 ERA in three playoff starts).

What are the starting lineups?

Tigers: Detroit’s youth movement in August resulted in a much more lefty-heavy lineup, which presents a challenge against Valdez. Andy Ibáñez has been a starter against lefties all season, though he has struggled down the stretch. But Riley Greene, Colt Keith and Parker Meadows are left-handed hitters who play pretty much every day. Look for Kerry Carpenter to emerge off the bench if Houston goes to a right-handed reliever.

Astros: Houston’s lineup will look much different if Yordan Alvarez (right knee sprain) is able to play in the Wild Card Series. He injured his knee on Sept. 22 and has been rehabbing in the final week of the season. For now, we’ll plug him into the lineup at DH, with Victor Caratini getting the start at first base against a left-handed pitcher in Game 1. If Alvarez is out, Mauricio Dubón or Chas McCormick could play center and Jason Heyward could start in left.

How will the bullpens line up after the starter?

Tigers: Skubal will be counted on for innings with the Tigers likely relying on openers for the remainder of the series. If he can get to the seventh with a lead, Hinch will deploy a late-inning group that includes versatile lefty Tyler Holton and righty Beau Brieske, right-handed setup man Will Vest and primary closer Jason Foley. Don’t be surprised if lefty Sean Guenther gets a key situation given his late-season success and ability to disrupt timing.

Astros: If the Astros get six innings out of Valdez, they’ll have Bryan Abreu (seventh), Pressly (eighth) and closer Josh Hader (ninth) lined up after that. The club will have starting pitchers Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti in the bullpen for the Wild Card Series, so they could be used as a bridge to the back end of the bullpen if a starter doesn’t go deep.

Any injuries of note?

Tigers: Javier Báez is out for the season following right hip surgery in August.

Astros: Alvarez (sprained right knee) will be a topic to watch as the playoffs start. McCormick broke a bone in his right hand two weeks ago and should be ready for the Wild Card Series. Reliever Tayler Scott (thoracic spine strain), a key bullpen arm for much of the season, is eligible to come off the IL for Game 3.

Who’s hot, who’s not?

Tigers: Carpenter has a .954 OPS and a .605 slugging percentage since returning from the injured list on Aug. 13, including 10 home runs and 28 RBIs. He has reached base safely in eight of his last nine games, including a grand slam in Sunday’s regular-season finale. … Meadows went 8-for-19 with a home run and four runs scored over his last five games and is hitting .296 with an .840 OPS since his return from the injured list in August. … Keith has gone 3-for-19 over his last seven games. … Ibáñez went 7-for-42 with one extra-base hit in September and hasn’t homered since Aug. 25.

Astros: In 18 games since being reinstated from the IL, Tucker hit .365 (23-for-63) with two doubles, four homers and nine RBIs. … Dubón has hit .349 (29-for-83) since Aug. 25 with a .753 OPS. … Bregman slashed .471/.450/.941 with two homers and five RBIs in his last five games of the regular season. … Peña went 0-for-12 and first baseman Jon Singleton went 0-for-5 to end the regular season.

Tigers-Astros AL Wild Card Series Game 1 FAQ (Tues., 2:30 ET, ABC)