HOUSTON – Tarik Skubal did his part for the Detroit Tigers, winning Game 1 of the American League wild-card series on Tuesday against the Houston Astros, 3-1.

Now, get ready for the chaos.

The Tigers plan to start left-hander Tyler Holton in Game 2 today at Minute Maid Park (2:32 p.m., ABC).

“I’m always available,” Holton said last week.

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Holton was available on Tuesday night in a pressure situation, facing Kyle Tucker with two outs. Holton threw two pitches, getting Tucker to ground out on a sweeper to end the inning.

Then, his work was done – and that short outing makes him available today when he gets his 10th start of the season. If the Tigers win, they would advance to the American League Division Series to face the Cleveland Guardians.

After Holton? Tigers manager A.J. Hinch plans to unleash "pitching chaos," as he called it.

He could use any pitcher at any time, trying to be unpredictable, trying to set up ideal matchups.

“Our ability to audible and pivot has been probably our biggest strength strategy-wise, in the last two months,” Hinch said.

Rookie right-hander Reese Olson is expected to handle the bulk of the innings for the Tigers. He missed nearly two months with a shoulder strain, returned Sept. 16 and has made three starts, pitching no more than four innings in each.

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But matchups in the playoffs matter far more than eating innings.

“The only thing I really know is whenever A.J. tells me to go out to the mound, I'm going to go,” Olson said. “So whenever that is, I'm going to be ready for that.”

The Astros will counter with right-handed Detroit native Hunter Brown (St. Clair Lakeview High School and Wayne State).

“Hunter was starting Game 2 from a long time ago,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “I just never told you that. He's one of the best starters in the game. He's been one of the best pitchers in the second half. So that was a no-brainer for me."

Brown (11-9, 3.49 ERA) last pitched Sept. 23.

“What an opportunity,” Brown said. “We've been grinding all year, and here we are again with our backs against the wall. Hopefully come out and give us a good shot to win the game.”

Brown has faced the Tigers five times.

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The most notable, at least from his perspective, took place in Detroit on May 11 when he faced the Tigers in a relief appearance, throwing five innings, striking out seven while allowing five hits and one earned run.

While it’s a great storyline – a Detroit native facing his hometown team – that performance in Detroit was huge for Brown.

“That was probably maybe a turning point for me at the time,” Brown said. “I was kind of struggling, and it was something that Joe and Josh had talked to me about, coming out of the bullpen to maybe jump start the season, maybe get me right.”

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: How Tigers will unleash 'pitching chaos' on Astros in Game 2