The Houston Astros wrapped up their regular season on Sunday after a lengthy rain delay led to a cancellation of their game with the Cleveland Guardians. Both teams already had secured their American League playoff spots. All Sunday’s game would have done is help players pad their statistics.
The Astros now shift their focus to the upcoming American League Wild Card series. They go up against the Detroit Tigers and the team’s old manager, A.J. Hinch. The three-game series takes place at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The Astros clinched the home-field advantage for this series. They finished in the No. 3 spot among AL postseason teams. The Guardians take some time off now and prepare to face the AL Wild Card series winner.
Houston Astros Might Play Guardians Again
Yes, it means that the Houston Astros and Cleveland Guardians could play each other again. Going up against the Tigers is not going to be a cakewalk. Detroit has been playing excellent baseball since the All-Star break. Due to Detroit’s solid pitching led by Tarik Skubal and timely hitting, it was able to take advantage of the Minnesota Twins’ second-half swan dive.
The Twins were in a position to reach the postseason again themselves. But Minnesota could not put together a string of victories as the season wore on. Eventually, the Twins were out of the playoff picture and Detroit motored ahead to earn its spot.
Let’s spend a little time talking about Skubal. As the regular season ended on Sunday with Detroit losing to the Chicago White Sox 9-5, that didn’t dampen the view on Skubal one bit. He already wrapped up his regular-season work and looks to be the shoo-in for this season’s American League Cy Young Award.
The Tiger King has been crowned. 👑
Tarik Skubal has secured the American League pitching Triple Crown, leading the AL with 18 wins, a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts. pic.twitter.com/FZU9dcj9Ck
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 29, 2024
Skubal led the AL in wins, ERA (earned-run average), and strikeouts—the pitching Triple Crown. He earned it for a full season of work, the first pitcher to do so in a full season since 2011. Guess who was one of those pitchers to do it that year? None other than Justin Verlander, who made a name for himself with the Tigers. Clayton Kershaw also did the feat in the National League that year, too. Shane Bieber finished his own Triple Crown, but it was during the COVID-shortened season in 2020.
Tarik Skubal Is Ace For Detroit
Skubal had 18 victories, a 2.39 ERA, and 228 strikeouts, MLB.com reported. “That’s pretty cool, to accomplish something like that,” Skubal said. “But what I’m most proud about is that we’re in the playoffs. That’s more fun than winning a Triple Crown. That’s kind of how I feel about it.”
He’s going to get the Game 1 start on Tuesday afternoon against Houston left-hander Framber Valdez. Game 1 is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. Eastern and air on ABC.
“When you see special seasons like this, the hardest thing to do for all of us is to put in proper context while you’re watching it,” Hinch said on Sunday. “Think about Miguel Cabrera’s Triple Crown, like how incredible that was. And now put it in perspective of his entire career, and we have a whole new perspective. We’re going to look at Tarik’s year much differently five years from now, 10 years from now, when that list is still short.”
Neither the Houston Astros nor Tigers have released their postseason rosters as of Sunday night. Both teams have until Tuesday morning to set them. Yet Astros players and fans are keeping their hopes that outfielder-designated hitter Yordan Alvarez can return to the lineup.
Alvarez took batting practice in Houston on Sunday. He, along with fellow outfielder Chas McCormick, did not travel with Houston to Cleveland for the weekend series. McCormick has been dealing with an injured hand. Alvarez has been working hard to heal from a sprained right knee.
Joe Espada Hopes Alvarez Can Play
Reports indicated that Alvarez had a good workout on Sunday and will take batting practice in the Astros’ pre-series workout on Monday. “That’s a really good sign,” Astros manager Joe Espada said on Sunday, MLB.com Astros reporter Brian McTaggart reported. Espada finished his first regular season as a major-league manager with an 88-73 record after Sunday’s rainout at Progressive Field in Cleveland. “He checked a ton of boxes today and tomorrow, he’s going to go out and hit.”
Alvarez has had a knack for delivering key home runs in postseason play. Of course, Astros fans remember Alvarez’s 450-foot home run in Game 6 of the 2022 World Series to straightaway center field off Philadelphia reliever Jose Alvarado. He also hit a memorable game-winning home run in a playoff game that season against the Seattle Mariners.
“But the fact he could go and hit tomorrow, and we can see him and talk to him, and then there’s that playoff adrenaline that kicks in and we can see how he feels post-workout, [is a good sign],” Espada said. “We still have Tuesday to see how he feels in the morning. There’s still some time, but I don’t want to be getting too excited about it because we still got some hurdles to get over.”
For now, the Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers have a little time to get their plans in order.
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