Astros have no reason to be worried after Wild Card Game 1 defeat vs Tigers

The Houston Astros came within about a foot of taking Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Detroit Tigers. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, outfielder Jason Heyward smashed a line drive down the right field line, but it found the glove of Tigers' first baseman Spencer Torkelson. Houston now finds themselves down 1-0 in the best-of-three series.

But Astros fans shouldn't be too fearful heading into Game 2 on Wednesday afternoon. While the Tigers are one of the hottest teams in baseball, Detroit won't be sending Tarik Skubal out to the mound again for Game 2.

Astros took the Tigers' best shot in Game 1 and almost won

Let's give the Tigers their flowers, Astros fans. Detroit won the game they had to win. With the likely AL Cy Young Award-winner on the mound, the Tigers had to have that first game. Why? Because after Skubal, it's a hodgepodge of has-beens and also-rans..

The Tigers dealt their No. 2 starter, Jack Flaherty, at the MLB trade deadline, meaning that Casey Mize or Reese Olson are likely to take the hill for Detroit tomorrow. Neither pitcher should strike fear into the heart of the Astros lineup, meaning that Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Yordan Álvarez should have a better showing in Game 2.

Speaking of Bregman, Álvarez and Co., did you see how quickly the script flipped in the ninth inning? The Tigers had a three-run lead and it quickly turned into a nail-biter. The battle-tested group of Astros are used to that type of playoff pressure. The Tigers, eh, not so much.

Detroit's bullpen was obviously rattled down the stretch. Closer Jason Foley allowed three straight hits to the Astros lineup before Jeremy Peña laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Foley was pulled in favor of Beau Brieske, who struggled in his own right. After getting a lineout to start his outing, Brieske walked Chas McCormick on eight pitches. Were it not for the awareness of his first baseman, Brieske may have allowed at least the tying run to score in the ninth inning.

The Tigers used their best starter, burned through a ton of relievers, and still narrowly escaped an epic ninth-inning comeback on the part of the Astros. While it's a bit nerve-racking to be in a "win or go home" situation, if there's any team that's had their postseason mettle tested, it's the Astros.

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