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The Astros' Brown is tasked with salvaging the season against the hometown Tigers

Posted on by Vanessa
The Astros' Brown is tasked with salvaging the season against the hometown Tigers

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Hunter Brown grew up thinking about the Tigers and the playoffs.

But that wasn't how he imagined it.

“When I was 10 or 11 years old, I thought about pitching for them,” Brown said Tuesday before the Tigers beat his Houston Astros 3-1 and the best-of-three playoff series in Houston opened. “So, something different now.

“I’m just really excited about the opportunity. I believe in this group of guys and tomorrow will be a fun game.”

Brown, the 26-year-old right-handed dynamo, will start the crucial game for the Astros, who are in danger of being eliminated from the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2015 after Tarik Skubal's showpiece for the Tigers on Tuesday. They were in the final seven years in the ALCS and won the World Series championships in 2017 and 2022, Brown's rookie year in the majors.

Brown grew up in St. Clair Shores and attended Lakeview High School before competing at Wayne State, the only school that offered him a scholarship.

At Harwell Field on the Wayne State campus Tuesday, the Tigers' radio show was playing over the speakers, said Ryan Kelley, Wayne State's head coach since 2008, who grew up in the area and is a Tigers fan.

That will create some conflicting feelings heading into Game 2 on Wednesday.

“Maybe we can watch Hunter throw eight innings of shutout ball and the Tigers have some magic against the pen,” Kelley said after the Tigers’ win on Tuesday. “He has Detroit blood and guts. He’ll have his back.”

Brown broke into the major leagues in seven appearances during the 2022 regular season, posting a 0.89 ERA over 20.1 innings before pitching 3.2 scoreless innings in the playoffs.

He established himself in the Astros' rotation in 2023, but had some growing pains, going 11-13 with a 5.09 ERA before being solid in the playoffs. This season, Brown, who gets the Game 2 start via the acquisition of Yusei Kikuchi at the trade deadline (who would start Game 3 if needed), was 11-9 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.271 WHIP in 31 games ( 30 starts).

Brown had an ERA over 7.00 in mid-May, but credits a five-inning relief outing against the Tigers in May for helping him improve his season. He allowed just one run on five hits while striking out seven on May 11 in Detroit. Then on June 14 in Houston, he shut out the Tigers, striking out nine in seven innings. In his last 24 appearances (23 starts) of the regular season, beginning with May's game against Detroit, his ERA is 2.46 and the opponent's batting average is .216.

“That was probably a turning point for me at the time,” he said. “I was kind of struggling, and it was something that Joe (Espada, manager) and Josh (Miller, pitching coach) had talked to me about when they came out of the bullpen, maybe to jumpstart the season, maybe to get me right make.” “

More: Former Tigers ace Justin Verlander has left the Astros roster for the AL Wild Card Series

Now he's tasked with saving the Astros' season against his hometown team, the Tigers, whose last postseason game before Tuesday came in 2014 and whose last postseason win before Tuesday came in 2013, when he was still in high school went.

Brown has a career ERA of 2.93 in five games against the Tigers and is 3-0 in four starts.

“What an opportunity,” said Brown, a fifth-round draft pick by the Astros in 2019 and at that point only the eighth player ever drafted out of Wayne State. “We have been fighting all year and now we have our backs against it again.”

“We hope we come out and give ourselves a good chance to win the game.”

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@tonypaul1984

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Wojo and Chris McCosky talk to Tarik Skubal about the Game 1 win in Houston.

Wojo and Chris McCosky talk to Tarik Skubal about the Game 1 win in Houston.

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