HOUSTON — Another year and the Astros are again playing October baseball.
The postseason for Houston gets underway today at Minute Maid Park as the Astros and Detroit Tigers kick off their best-of-three Wild Card Series.
Game 1 is today with the first pitch at 1:32 p.m. at Minute Miad Park. Framber Valdez hits the hill for Houston while Tarik Skubal gets the start for Detroit. Skual is 18-4 this season with a 2.39 ERA. Valdez is 15-7 with a 2.91 ERA. Game 2 is tomorrow and a game 3, if necessary, is on Thursday. First pitch for all games is at 1:32 p.m. And all games will be in Houston.
As for how Tigers and Astros got to the playoffs, both teams had remarkable turnarounds. According to MLB.com, Houston became the first team in the expansion era to start a season 7-19 and make the playoffs. And the Tigers? On August 10, the team had a .2 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs. But here they are.
And one of the storylines of the series? Former Astros manager AJ Hinch, who led Houston to their first-ever World Series title in 2017, is now the manager of the Tigers.
The Astros have been to the ALCS in seven straight seasons. If they get past the Tigers, they’ll play in the American League Divisional Series against the Cleveland Guardians.
Key questions ahead of Game 1
Will Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez play in the Wild Card series? He's been dealing with a knee sprain since injuring it last Sunday in a game against the Angels. Houston manager Joe Espada addressed it Monday.
Then there's future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander. Since coming off the injury list, he's been shaky. Espada was asked about JV on Monday.
Game 1 festivities
The Tigers and Astros will tangle under a closed Minute Maid roof for the opener of the best-of-three Wild Card series. First pitch is 1:32 p.m. with gates opening at 11 a.m.
Before the game, the Astros will honor the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, who won the Triple-A national championship Saturday after winning the Pacific Coast League title last week.
Astros broadcasters Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum, and Julia Morales will give the ‘Play Ball’ call. The national anthem will be performed by Kenneth Gayle.