DETROIT – It took until the final out of the regular season, but we finally know who the Detroit Tigers will play in the wild card round of the playoffs.
With Detroit’s loss and Kansas City’s win on Sunday, the Tigers fell to the final wild card spot in the American League. That means they will head to Houston to play the Astros in the first round.
The Tigers ripped off 31 wins in 42 games to clinch a playoff spot on Friday night, and for a few days, it looked like they would head to Baltimore for the best-of-three series.
But the Tigers didn’t seem to have a preference between the Astros and the Orioles. They spent the past two days prepping their roster for the postseason, dropping a pair of games against the lowly Chicago White Sox.
It wouldn’t have mattered if the Braves swept the Royals, but Kansas City avoided that Sunday with a win.
The Tigers and Astros played six times this year, but the most recent was way back in mid-June. Houston won two out of three in both series.
Now, this is a completely different team. When they left Houston on June 16, the Tigers were in the midst of a 3-10 stretch that dropped them nine games below .500.
Fast forward to the end of the season, and the Tigers are 10 games over, at 86-76.
Game 1 will be Tuesday after one day off, and the Tigers will have soon-to-be AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal on the mound.
Game 2 is Wednesday, and then, if the two teams are tied 1-1, the decisive Game 3 will be Thursday.
All three games will be in Houston.
Should the Tigers advance past the Astros, a best-of-five series with the Cleveland Guardians awaits.
