You read that right, the Detroit Tigers have swept the Houston Astros two games to none, moving on to the ALDS to face the Cleveland Guardians! This will be the first time the Astros have not made an appearance in the ALCS since 2016. A once mighty force to be reckoned with, the Houston Astros were the worst of the best, being the #3 seed on the American League side of the postseason bracket. Simulations had them going all the way to the World Series even, but losing to the Dodgers.
The beginning of the end for the Astros season started when Tyler Holton took the mound the bottom half of the first inning and didn’t surrender a single run through his one inning of work. Then Hanifee worked a clean inning and two thirds. Then Hurter did the same, and Brieske as well. It was only when Jackson Jobe came in seventh inning and gave up two runs on two hits that the Astros finally had a lead, 2-1. Sean Guenther was called upon to clean up the mess as well go through the eight inning, after the Tigers had retaken the lead. It was the top of the eight and things were looking grim for Detroit until Ryan Pressly had the bases loaded and Josh Hader came in to clean things up; Andy Ibañez had different things on his mind when he went up to bat for McKinstry. Then Ibañez was at second base and the bases were cleared, Tigers were up 5-2, their win probability as tracked by MLB was at 93.3%, jumping +39.7% off of that Double.
Guenther would go on to put up a zero against the Astros in the eighth, and eventually get the Win after Will Vest came into the ninth and finished off Houston. No more AL West representatives stand in the postseason. It will now come down to two AL Central teams in the Tigers and the Guardians. But I pose a question here, as the Commissioners Office was playing around with the idea of mandating a “six inning rule” for starters. Did you enjoy A.J. Hinch’s masterful use of his bullpen, or would you rather see a Starter go six plus innings, good or bad? Either way, it’s ‘Adios, Houston!’ and “Hello, Cleveland!” for Detroit.
