Five years ago, A.J. Hinch — then manager of the Houston Astros — lost in the 2019 World Series. Less than three months later, Hinch was fired by the Astros and suspended one-season by MLB for his role in the sign-stealing scandal that took place in 2017, the year the Astros won the World Series.

Hinch hasn't been back to the postseason — until now.

It's his fourth season as manager of the Detroit Tigers.

"Baseball, it's going to take you places, and sometimes, it's going to take you places where you've been," Hinch said after Sunday's regular-season finale, a 9-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park. "I look forward to the challenge. We'll be there soon."

In 2024, the Tigers and Astros meet in the best-of-three American League wild-card series. The teams will play Tuesday, Wednesday and, if needed, Thursday, with all games beginning at 2:32 p.m. ET (on ABC) at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The winner of the wild-card series advances to play the Cleveland Guardians in the best-of-five ALDS, with Game 1 on Saturday in Cleveland.

"I didn't know if I was going to manage again," Hinch said Friday night after clinching a playoff berth. "So it means a lot to me to lead this team and for the organization to take a chance on me, to put me back in this chair, bring my experience, and see the good that I've done before."

ROSTER PREDICTION: Tigers roster prediction for playoffs vs. Astros

The Tigers (86-76) went 2-4 against the Astros (88-73) in the regular season series, losing two of three from May 10-12 at Comerica Park and two of three from June 14-16 at Minute Maid Park.

Both teams set their Game 1 starter: left-hander Tarik Skubal (18-4, 2.39 ERA) for the Tigers and left-hander Framber Valdez (15-7, 2.91 ERA) for the Astros.

"It makes everything that you do behind the scenes that nobody else sees worth it," Skubal said after Friday's game, "and it's only going to make me work harder and be a better version of myself. I'm looking forward to it."

The Tigers matched up against Valdez once this season, with Valdez winning the May 10 game. In that clash, Valdez allowed two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts across seven innings.

Meanwhile, the Astros faced Skubal twice this season, with Skubal winning the May 11 game and losing the June 14 game. He threw 6⅓ innings in both starts, allowing two runs May 11 and four runs June 14.

"All the confidence in the world," outfielder Riley Greene, a fellow All-Star, said of Skubal after Sunday's game. "Skubal is incredible. He's a dog. He's done it all year long. We're excited."

Skubal, 27, had 35 walks and 228 strikeouts across 192 innings in 31 starts, securing the AL pitching Triple Crown by leading the AL in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He will make his MLB playoff debut. Valdez, 30, had 55 walks and 169 strikeouts across 176⅓ innings in 28 starts. In 16 postseason appearances (15 starts), he is 7-5 with a 4.24 ERA and a 2022 World Series ring.

The Tigers went 21-10 in Skubal starts this season; the Astros went 19-9 in Valdez starts.

"We played them earlier this year," outfielder Matt Vierling said after Sunday's game. "I feel like we're a different team than when we played them. I've faced Framber a couple of times in the past, so I have an idea of what he's like. I'm really just excited to get down there, do the workout tomorrow and get a game plan."

THEY MADE IT: Asking playoff-bound Tigers: How did you do it, and how far can you go?

The Tigers clinched a spot in the postseason with Friday's 4-1 win over the White Sox, capping an improbable 31-11 run (which began Aug. 11) to snap a nine-year drought. Three days earlier, the Astros clinched their fourth straight AL West title — and their seventh AL West crown in eight years — to reach the playoffs for the eighth year in a row.

The Astros went 55-33 since June 19.

"I bet a decent group of guys were planning on going to Monday Night Football for the Lions," Skubal said, referencing Monday's Lions game at Ford Field against the Seattle Seahawks. "I bet a bunch of guys were planning on doing that. Things have changed. And that's awesome. That's what we wanted."

The Tigers slipped to the third wild-card spot — behind the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals — as a result of losing Sunday, combined with the Royals defeating the Atlanta Braves, 4-2. A win by the Tigers (or a loss by the Royals) would have sent the Tigers to Baltimore for a wild-card series with the Orioles, but instead, the Tigers are headed to Houston.

The 26-man wild-card roster must be finalized Tuesday by 11 a.m. ET.

"I think the biggest question is going to be how much pitching do you take into a three-game series," Hinch said before Sunday's game. "It sounds simple like, 'Oh, you can just roll out a short number of pitchers.' Then you realize playoff baseball is managed and played differently with the sense of urgency that's created from the first runner that gets on base. Then you factor in the way we have been successful in the last couple of months is the ability to go to the bullpen whenever we want to. That's going to create probably more pitchers than not. We can only take 13. Does that number get to 13?"

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers vs Astros in MLB playoffs wild card series 2024