Where to watch Astros vs. Tigers: MLB Wild Card Schedule, TV Channels, Live Stream Postseason Baseball, Time

The Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers square off in a best-of-three American League Wild Card series this week at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The Tigers, behind Tarik Skubal, won Game 1 on Tuesday, pushing Houston to the brink of elimination. The Astros, who have made it to the ALCS seven years in a row, need to win back-to-back games to keep their season alive. It starts with Game 2 on Wednesday afternoon.

The Astros are part of the postseason frenzy for the eighth straight year. The Tigers, meanwhile, are making their first playoff appearance since 2014.

View the complete MLB playoff bracket. Below is the Astros-Tigers Wild Card Series schedule:

Where to watch Game 2

Date: Wednesday, October 2 | Time: 2:32 pm ET
Location: Minute Maid Park (Houston)
Channel: ABC | flow: Fubo (Try Free)
Potential pitchers: RHP Hunter Brown (11-9, 3.49 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Holton (7-2, 2.19 ERA)
Odds: HOU -170 | IT +143 | O/U: 7.5

Game 1 was a clash of aces, as AL Cy Young frontrunner Tarik Skubal bested Houston's Framber Valdez. In Game 2, the Tigers will go back to an opener, Tyler Holton, though that headline conjures up an image that doesn't properly credit Holton's talent this year. Detroit manager AJ Hinch called his pitching scheme “chaos.” Holton will try to calm down a bit. The Astros will compete in a do-or-die game with Detroit native Hunter Brown. Brown's early return was so terrible that the Astros considered demoting him to Triple-A, but instead sent him to the bullpen to see if he could reinvent himself. He was in a sinking shape. In 23 starts between May 17 and September 23, Brown had a 2.48 ERA in 137 2/3 innings while allowing just 12 home runs.

Here's what you need to know about each team.

Tiger: The Tigers are in the playoffs for the first time in a decade, and it's been an improbable run. They were nine games under .500 as recently as the Fourth of July, and they were 16 games out of first place in the AL Central as of Aug. 2. They weren't expected to compete this season, and that's really how things looked. For a while Detroit led 47-50 in the first half and they behaved like sellers leading up to the trade deadline, especially the deal that sent No. 2 starter Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers. In the second half, however, the Tigers went ahead 39-26 with a margin of plus-47 runs. This surge allowed them to pass the Twins for the final playoff spot.

Tigers subplot manager AJ Hinch. Hinch spent five seasons as manager of the Astros and led them to a World Series crown – the first in franchise history – in 2017. Hinch was fired as a result of the sign-styling scandal and then suspended by MLB for the entire 2020 season. Then the Tigers gave him a shot at redemption, and now he gets a “revenge series” against the team against which he achieved glory.

Astros: The Astros will try to make it at least as far as the ALCS for the eighth straight season. That makes them the closest thing to a modern MLB dynasty. They will also be vying for their third World Series title in the last eight years. Things haven't started swimmingly for Houston this season under first-year manager Joe Espada. At one point in early May, they were 12 games under .500 and by the end of June 18 they trailed the Mariners by 10 games in the AL West. However, the rotation has recovered, Alex Bregman has found his groove and the Astros have surged. Recent history teaches us not to doubt them in October.