HOUSTON — Pop the champagne.

Spray some more beer.

The young, surprising Detroit Tigers are celebrating once again.

They stunned the Houston Astros on Wednesday afternoon, coming from behind with a 5-2 victory at Minute Maid Park, winning their AL wild-card series and advancing to the best-of-five ALDS vs. the No. 2 seed Cleveland Guardians. Game 1 is Saturday in Cleveland (1:08 p.m., TBS). The Tigers will host Game 3 next Wednesday.

It’s the continuation of a two-month long magic carpet ride for this young team that just swept the Astros, a team that had advanced to the ALCS in seven straight seasons.

This time, everything turned in the top of the eighth inning.

The Tigers had already tied the game, 2-2, and the bases were loaded with two outs. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch turned to right-handed pinch-hitter Andy Ibáñez to face Josh Hader, the Astros' talented left-handed closer. Ibáñez came out swinging, fouling off three pitches.

Then, Ibáñez ripped a double into the left-field corner, clearing the bases and giving the Tigers a stunning lead, 5-2.

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Left-hander Sean Guenther, an unsung bullpen hero during this ride, handled the end of the seventh and eighth.

And native Texan Will Vest got the save in three batters, thanks, in part, to Parker Meadows, who made a leaping catch in the ninth.

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Incredible drama

The game was full of drama and hold-your-breath moments, most happening with the Astros at the plate.

It was like watching somebody in the movies trying to walk through a minefield. Every step seemed perilous. Every moment packed with tension.

It started in the first inning when Jose Altuve crushed a ball down the third-base line. But Zach McKinstry went hard to his right, scooped it up, planted and fired across the field, bouncing the ball to Spencer Torkelson, who stretched perfectly for the out at first.

Or the time when Hinch turned to Brenan Hanifee to go against Alex Bregman, who promptly singled to left.

After walking Jeremy Peña, Hanifee faced Jeremy Heyward, who lined a couple of balls down the right-field line, but both hooked foul. Barely. Hanifee then struck him out on eight pitches.

Or the time Brant Hurter was pitching in the fourth inning, and Bregman, a free agent third baseman this winter, crushed a 92 mph sinker to center field. But Meadows tracked it down in front of the wall.

Or later in the inning, when Peña batted with two on and one out. But Hurter got him to hit into a tailormade double play.

Or the time Beau Brieske entered the game in the fifth inning to face Altuve with an Astro on first and one out. Brieske, who earned the save in Game 1, got him to harmlessly fly out to center.

Or a moment later when Brieske faced Kyle Tucker with a runner on second. Brieske simply struck him out looking.

Or when Brieske faced Bregman in the sixth, with a runner on and no outs. But he lined out to Riley Greene in left.

Root for the Tigers?

Nah. This game was all about “Root 4 tha chicken” early.

In the sixth inning, Meadows hit a towering homer down the right-field line. The ball started curving and hit the Chick-fil-A-sponsored sign connected to the foul pole that read: “Root 4 tha chicken.”

Meadows circled the bases, as the Tigers took a 1-0 lead.

Detroit-area native Hunter Brown shuts down Tigers

One of the most memorable parts of this game was watching the Tigers face Hunter Brown, a 26-year-old pitcher from St. Clair Shores Lakeview High School.

You had to figure he played at Michigan or Michigan State, right? Nope.

So, surely, he had to pitch at Central Michigan, Eastern or Western, right? Nope.

He pitched at Wayne State, the Division II school in Detroit located about two miles from Comerica Park that offers partial baseball scholarships.

He took the hard route to this moment and deserves all kinds of credit.

Here was a hometown kid pitching against the team he grew up rooting for, and he was dealing, throwing strikes, allowing just one hit through four innings in a must-win game.

But the string of success ended in the top of the sixth when Meadows hooked a homer, barely keeping it fair. Brown was pulled soon after, when the Tigers had a 1-0 lead. He had thrown 99 pitches, got nine strikeouts and allowed just two hits, getting a standing ovation from the crowd.

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Jackson Jobe move does not work

In the seventh inning, with the Tigers holding a 1-0 lead, Hinch turned to Jackson Jobe, the top prospect who had just four innings of MLB experience.

Jobe promptly hit Victor Caratini with the first pitch. Then, Peña looped a ball into center. After a mound visit and a PitchCom delay, Mauricio Dubón bunted to third but the Tigers couldn’t make a play.

With the bases loaded and no outs, Jobe faced Jon Singleton, a pinch hitter. He hit a grounder to Torkelson, who dived, caught it and flipped it home from his knees, but Jake Rogers couldn’t come up with the one-hopper.

Altuve was next, and hit a foul ball to Matt Vierling in right, who caught it in foul territory, but Peña came charging home and beat the throw, as the Astros took a 2-1 lead.

But that was all wiped away when Kerry Carpenter scored on a Ryan Pressly wild pitch to tie it, then a playoff-defining hit from Ibáñez.

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Mixing and matching

The Tigers started Tyler Holton, who pitched in the eighth inning on Tuesday in Game 1.

Holton did his job perfectly, getting through the top of the first inning without any damage, throwing just 18 pitches.

Then, Hinch started rolling through his bullpen.

“Obviously, (Tarik) Skubal is not pitching today,” Hinch told ABC midway through the fourth. “We have 11 other guys. They are all available. We’ll see how the rest of the game plays out.”

Hinch went to Hanifee for 1⅔ innings.

Hurter for 1⅔.

Brieske for 1⅔.

Jobe for one out.

Guenther went 1⅔, getting a clutch double play to end the jam-packed seventh, then holding down the eighth after the Tigers' comeback.

And Vest got the save.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Andy Ibáñez plays Tigers hero in stunning Game 2 rally to sweep Astros