Andy Ibanez smashed a three-run double in the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers defeated Houston 5-2 on Wednesday to advance in the Major League Baseball playoffs.
Detroit swept the best-of-three American League wild card series to reach a second-round matchup against the Cleveland Guardians, who host the opener on Saturday.
The upstart Tigers, who had not reached the playoffs since 2014 and had not won a playoff series since 2013, ousted an Astros club that had reached the AL championship series in each of the past seven seasons.
“We just needed to believe,” Ibanez said. “That’s the one thing we were missing. We believed coming into this series and we ended up beating a great team in the Astros and now we’re moving on.”
With the game deadlocked and the bases loaded, Ibanez blasted the game-winning hit down the left-field line off left-handed Houston relief pitcher Josh Hader.
“I think that was the best at-bat of my life,” Ibanez, a 31-year-old Cuban, said through a translator.
“The coaches were telling me to be ready to face a left-hander and the moment finally came.”
Three more teams will try to advance in later games, with Kansas City ahead 1-0 at Baltimore, host San Diego up 1-0 against Atlanta and the New York Mets ahead 1-0 at Milwaukee.
Detroit’s Parker Meadows blasted a solo home run to right field to open the sixth inning for a 1-0 lead.
Houston answered in the seventh when Victor Caratini was hit by a pitch and advanced on singles by Jeremy Pena and Mauricio Dubon to load the bases.
Astros pinch-hitter Jon Singleton then reached on a fielder’s choice as Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson allowed Caratini to score on a throwing error to home plate.
Jose Altuve’s sacrifice fly to right field then scored Pena for a 2-1 Astros lead.
Detroit responded in the eighth when Kerry Carpenter singled, took third on Matt Vierling’s single and scored the tying run on a wild pitch by Houston’s Ryan Pressly.
Colt Keith and Torkelson walked to load the bases for pinch-hitter Ibanez, who doubled down the left-field line to drive in the deciding runs.
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