Skubal became the first pitcher this year to reach 200 strikeouts, further strengthening his case for the AL Cy Young Award.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch isn’t prepared to talk about postseason baseball at this moment.

Yet, today at Comerica Park, as Tarik Skubal and Hunter Brown took the mound, with evening showers giving way to a picturesque sunset reflected on the Detroit skyline and a cool, misty Michigan breeze in the air, it was hard not to look ahead to what might come.

Although last year’s pitching chaos brought Detroit all the glory, today’s Tigers-Astros matchup felt like playoff baseball: ace versus ace, runs at a premium, clutch defensive plays, and pinch hitters lining up once the bullpens took over. The scoreless duel finally ended in the 10th inning when Gleyber Torres drew a bases-loaded, two-out walk, sending the damp Comerica Park crowd into a frenzy and delivering the Tigers a walk-off, postseason-like 1-0 win.

Both starting pitchers got help from their defenses. Brown escaped a third-inning jam with runners at the corners and one out when Kerry Carpenter’s line drive was snagged by first baseman Christian Walker, who then stepped on first to complete an inning-ending double play. Carpenter turned things around in the next frame, barehanding Ramón Urías’s double into the right-field corner and firing a perfect relay to Torres, kicking off a sequence that ended with catcher Dillon Dingler tagging out Yainer Diaz at home before his hand touched the plate.

From that point, Skubal retired the final nine batters he faced, striking out six. His 95th and final pitch of the night—a slider past Urías—secured his 10th strikeout of the game and his 200th of the season, making him the first pitcher in the majors to reach that milestone this year.

Skubal finished seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits. Brown, the former Wayne State star, was also impressive in his fourth career start in his hometown, tossing six scoreless innings with five hits, three walks, and six strikeouts. After Zach McKinstry’s triple in the fifth, Brown stranded him at third base.

The pitching duel continued into the bullpens. Carpenter made a sliding catch to help Kyle Finnegan close out the eighth. Astros closer Bryan Abreu made a diving play and touched first with his heel to retire Carpenter, the leadoff man in the ninth. When Jesús Sánchez dropped Spencer Torkelson’s fly ball for a two-base error with two outs, the Tigers had a walk-off chance, but Taylor Trammell tumbled backward in foul territory in left to catch Wenceel Pérez’s fly, sending the game to extras.

Will Vest let out a primal roar after striking out pinch-hitter Victor Caratini and stranding the automatic runner in the top of the 10th. In the bottom half, after Andy Ibáñez advanced Pérez to third with a deep fly to right for the first out, Kaleb Ort intentionally walked Dingler to face Javier Báez, who had struck out as a pinch-hitter for Trey Sweeney in the eighth. Ort struck out Báez but then walked Jahmai Jones, bringing up Torres, who didn’t swing at any of the seven pitches he saw. Ort’s 3-2 pitch missed badly, walking Torres to force in the winning run as Pérez crossed the plate.