Detroit Tigers take on Houston Astros in AL Wild Card Series

Detroit — They’re on their way to Houston.

The Tigers and Astros meet in the first round of the Major League Baseball playoffs, following the Tigers’ 9-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox in Sunday’s regular-season finale at Comerica Park.

The best-of-three series starts on Tuesday and continues on Wednesday and, if necessary, Thursday. All games will take place in Houston, and the only way the Tigers get a home game this year is if they make it to the second round, under the expanded playoff format launched in 2022.

This series is a reunion between Tigers manager AJ Hinch and the team he led to the 2017 World Series championship, albeit a tainted one. Hinch was fired due to the fallout from the sign-stealing scandal in Houston and was suspended by the MLB for a year. The Tigers hired him at the end of the 2020 World Series after Hinch’s suspension was lifted.

Of course, it’s also a reunion between the Tigers and their former top executive, Justin Verlander, who played in two World Series in Detroit and won two in Houston. Verlander spent his first 13 years with Detroit.

Verlander’s role in the playoffs is a bit murky considering a tough season at age 41. Game 1 features the Tigers’ Cy Young and Tarik Skubal against the Astros’ Framber Valdez. The Astros and Tigers played a series in Detroit in May and in Houston in June, with the Astros winning two of three games both times. Skubal defeated them in May and lost to them in June.

The Astros (88-73) are in the playoffs for the eighth straight year and won the AL West for the seventh time in that span. The Tigers (86-76) ended a decade-long postseason drought with a stunning surge in the final two months of the season.

The winner of this series will meet the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians in the AL Division Series.

Game times and TV assignments were still known as of early Sunday evening.

This is a development story. Check back for more updates.

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