HOUSTON — Andy Ibanez hit a tiebreaking three-run double in Detroit’s four-run eighth inning, and the Tigers swept the Houston Astros with a 5-2 victory in Game 2 of their AL Wild Card Series on Wednesday.
Parker Meadows homered as Detroit ended Houston’s run of seven consecutive appearances in the AL Championship Series. It was a sweet moment for Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who led Houston to a championship in 2017 and was fired in the aftermath of the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.
The Tigers entered Wednesday 1-22 in the postseason since 2000 when trailing in the eighth inning or later. Ibanez became the first player in Tigers history with a pinch-hit, go-ahead hit in the postseason.
“We’ve been doing this all year, and he was really ready,” Hinch said of Ibanez.
It was Detroit’s first postseason series victory since the 2013 AL Division Series, which they won in five games vs. the Athletics.
Next up for the wild-card Tigers is a trip to Cleveland to take on the AL Central champions in a best-of-five AL Division Series. Game 1 is on Saturday. The teams have never met in the postseason.
Kerry Carpenter sparked Detroit’s eighth-inning rally with a one-out single off Ryan Pressly (0-1), who converted his first 14 postseason save opportunities. Carpenter advanced to third on a single by Matt Vierling and scored on a wild pitch, tying it at 2.
Hinch then sent Ibanez up to hit for Zach McKinstry, and Ibanez lined a 1-2 sinker into the corner in left for a 5-2 lead.
Hader, who signed a $95 million, five-year contract with Houston in January, allowed three hits and walked two in 1⅓ innings.
It was the Astros’ first time being swept in a postseason series since the 2005 World Series against the White Sox, a streak of 21 straight postseason series. It also snapped a seven-season streak making the LCS, the second-longest run since the round began in 1969.
Detroit used seven different pitchers a day after pitching Triple Crown winner Tarik Skubal got the win in the series opener. Sean Guenther pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win in Game 2, and Will Vest handled the ninth for the save.
In the postseason for the first time since 2014, Detroit also got a solo home run from Meadows in the sixth to help the franchise to its first playoff series win since the 2013 ALDS.
Just making it to the playoffs seemed improbable before Detroit went 31-13 down the stretch in the regular season, helped along by the leadership of Hinch — who knows a little something about October success from his time with the Astros.
Eight of the first nine wild card series since they began in 2002 have been sweeps. It’s the fourth sweep in postseason history for the Tigers, who previously swept the ALCS in 1984, 2006 and 2012.
Detroit became the fourth team in MLB history to win a playoff series after being 10-plus games back of a playoff spot at least 110 games into the season. They joined the 1964 Cardinals, the 1969 Mets and the 2011 Cardinals — each of whom went on to win the World Series.
The Astros jumped in front in the seventh, but they lost their seventh straight postseason game at home. Houston’s ALCS streak included four World Series appearances and two titles.
The AL West champions failed to get the big hits they relied on in the regular season, but manufactured a pair of runs with hustle plays in the seventh.
Mauricio Dubon hit a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Pinch-hitter Jon Singleton hit a chopper that was fielded by first baseman Torkelson, who threw home from his knees. The throw was in front of the plate and not in time to beat Victor Caratini home.
Torkelson, who was given an error on the play, smacked the ground in disgust after Caratini touched home, tying it at 1.
Jose Altuve then hit a flyball that Vierling caught in foul territory in right, but his throw home wasn’t in time to beat the speedy Jeremy Pena.
Houston starter Hunter Brown had allowed just one hit on a double in the second when Meadows smacked his home run off the foul pole in right field to start the sixth.
Brown struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings in his eighth postseason game and first start.
Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
