Tarik Skubal shoved, Framber Valdez struggled, and the Tigers offense did just enough to scratch out a 3-1 win in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. The Tigers’ ace, likely headed toward some regular-season hardware after winning the American League pitching Triple Crown, threw as hard as he has all year without any effect on his command, locating nearly three-quarters of his pitches for strikes. Skubal shrugged off a mini-rally and a couple of injury concerns to dominate, striking out six against only four hits and one walk. The Tigers offense executed an opposite-field approach against the lefty sinkerballer, hitting eight singles and one double off him. They peppered Valdez — who struggled to keep the sinker down and execute all of his pitches — forcing him out of the game early. By contrast, the Astros offense was relatively quiet. A ninth-inning double from Yordan Alvarez was the only extra-base hit they managed. In that last frame, Houston strung together three hits, scored once, and threatened to tie the game against Jason Foley. Continuing the Tigers’ all-hands-on-deck mentality, sometimes starter Beau Brieske came in to extinguish the rally, leaving the bases loaded after a stinging line drive from Jason Heyward that found a glove. — Eno Sarris
Tigers went the other way on Framber Valdez
If the Tigers wanted any chance to win today, they had to find a way to get to Valdez. That felt like a tall order for a team that had just a .660 OPS against left-handed pitching this season. Colt Keith and Kerry Carpenter would start on the bench. Pressure would be on hitters such as Justyn-Henry Malloy and Andy Ibáñez. Sure enough, the Tigers chased Valdez after only 4 ⅓ innings. Their right-handed batters took a clear opposite-field approach and nicked Valdez with paper-cut two-out singles that turned into a three-run second inning. The bottom of the Detroit order came through with hits at the right time, and their biggest on-paper weakness entering this series — facing lefty starters — went out the window once Valdez left the game. For the entire afternoon, the Tigers executed their offensive game plan, and didn’t given away many outs for free. Even with only two extra-base hits, a reflection of the lineup weakness this team still faces, the Tigers’ collective approach looked as cohesive as it has all season.
Tarik Skubal pounded the zone and dominated once again
On the day Skubal was named the Tigers’ Opening Day starter this spring, he didn’t fully entertain the honor. Starting Game 1 of a playoff series, he said, would be more meaningful. Well, here he was Tuesday, a Cy Young Award favorite, a pitching Triple Crown winner and a workhorse looking to carry his team to victory. In the first inning, Skubal pounded the zone as he has all season. He dispatched Houston’s dangerous top three with only five pitches. The Astros made him work more in a 29-pitch fourth inning, but Skubal struck out Jeremy Peña and Victor Caratini and came off the mound with his patented “Let’s go!” roar. In his first taste of October, Skubal looked the part of an ace who could carry a team deeper into the postseason. He was done after only 88 pitches and a trainer visited the mound in the sixth. It was unclear exactly what was bothering Skubal, and he stayed in to finish the inning, so that remains something to monitor.
Framber Valdez scuffles, sees what an ace looks like
Framber Valdez did nothing to alter his October narrative. One postseason after posting a 9.00 ERA across three starts, Valdez gave his club little chance to compete opposite Skubal. He surrendered three runs, secured 13 outs and could not keep his sinker down in the strike zone. Valdez’s total line wasn’t terrible, but a three-run deficit against Skubal feels more like 30. In the second inning, Valdez committed cardinal sins in a month when none are forgiven — the tiny missteps that sometimes precipitate his unraveling. He walked Spencer Torkelson after getting ahead in the count 0-2, extending the frame that furthered his spiral. Two batters later, Valdez fell behind Jake Rogers 3-0. Perhaps unaware that an eight-hole-hitting catcher could elicit a green light, Valdez supplied an elevated sinker. Rogers rocked it back up the middle to plate the game’s first run. Two more run-scoring singles followed, digging Houston’s lineup a hole from which it could not overcome. — Chandler Rome
It was no surprise the Astros tried to ambush Tarik Skubal
Skubal surrendered a .971 OPS this season on the first pitch of a plate appearance, a 1.057 mark in 0-1 counts and an .800 clip in 1-0 counts. Ambushing him is an admirable plan — and part of the Astros’ season-long offensive philosophy. No lineup in the sport saw fewer pitches than Houston’s during the regular season. Only the Miami Marlins had a higher swing rate. That the Astros were aggressive against Skubal is no surprise: They saw five pitches in both the first and fifth inning and nine in the second. That Skubal started the game with a first-pitch changeup to Jose Altuve suggested the ace expected such aggression. Altuve roped it right to Riley Greene in left field, beginning an efficient afternoon that became excruciating for Astros fans to endure. A Houston lineup that swung 50 percent of the time in the regular season offered at 50 of the 88 pitches Skubal threw, but averaged just an 85.8 mph exit velocity on the 16 balls put in play. — Chandler Rome
(Photo: Tarik Skubal: Kevin M. Cox / Associated Press)
