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Detroit Tigers now one MLB playoffs win away from ALDS appearance
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- Detroit Tigers now one MLB playoffs win away from ALDS appearance
The Detroit Tigers are now just one win away from advancing to the ALDS.
The Tigers took down the Houston Astros 3-1 in Game 1 of the AL wild-card series on the road Tuesday. Tarik Skubal delivered six scoreless innings with six strikeouts with four hits allowed while the offense struck for three runs for a two-out rally in the second inning that proved to be enough of a lead.
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Will Vest , Tyler Holton , Jason Foley and Beau Brieske came out of the bullpen to shut down the Astros and survive a bases-loaded rally from Houston in the bottom of the ninth inning. Vest and Holton teamed up for scoreless seventh and eighth innings, but Foley gave up three straight hits in the ninth to give up a run. Brieske came on with runners at second and third and one out, and got the save after walking a batter to load the bases.
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The Tigers are now one game up in the best-of-three series and just need to win one of the next two games to advance. Games 2 and 3 also take place in Houston's Minute Maid Park thanks to the new playoff format where the wild-card series takes place at the top-seeded team's stadium.
History is on Detroit 's side. Every winner of the first game in the wild-card round (eight so far) since the new format started in 2022 has gone on to win the series, with seven of those being sweeps. The 2022 Padres were the only team to drop Game 2, but rallied to beat the Mets in Game 3. In 2022, the Phillies , Padres and Mariners had road sweeps and the Diamondbacks and Rangers, the 2023 World Series participants, did it last year.
If the Tigers pull off the upset, they will face the AL Central rival and second-seeded Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS. The ALDS series starts on Saturday with Game 1 in Cleveland regardless if the Tigers can finish it in two games on Wednesday or Detroit and Houston have to have a Game 3 rubber match.
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The full schedule for the best-of-five ALDS is Game 1 on Saturday, Game 2 on Monday, Game 3 on Wednesday, Game 4 (if necessary) on Thursday and Game 5 (if necessary) on Saturday, Oct. 12. The Tigers would host Games 3 and 4 at Comerica Park if they advance for the first home playoff game(s) since 2014.
On the other side of the AL playoff bracket, the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles start the other AL wild-card series where the winner will face the top-seeded New York Yankees .
Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press covering the city's professional teams, the state's two flagship universities and more. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22 , and email him at jramsey@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers now one win away from ALDS appearance in MLB playoffs
