In a long Major League Baseball, it’s difficult for a game to stand out. It’s tricky to sweep a series, even against a bad team, and it’s impossible to win every game. But what happened Wednesday night in Houston, when the Tigers beat the Astros 2-1, goes beyond all that.
According to sportsbooks in Las Vegas and elsewhere, Detroit’s victory was one of the biggest upsets in recorded MLB history.
John Hicks hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the ninth inning off of Houston ace Justin Verlander, and the Tigers threw out Robinson Chirinos at third base to end the game, allowing underdog bettors to cash +460 tickets.
Sorry not sorry, Vegas.#TigersWIN pic.twitter.com/HlFegegwGn
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 22, 2019
Never tell me the odds
The Astros were as high as -600 at some sportsbooks, meaning bettors had to wager $600 to win $100. The Tigers, on the flip side, paid out nearly $500 for every $100 bet.
Records of odds are only reliable back until about 2005, but this is by far the biggest upset in that time frame. In fact, it’s very rare for a game to even have odds that high.
And what’s more remarkable? The Astros from 10 days ago are also on the list. The Orioles beat Houston 8-7 on Aug. 11 as +390 underdogs.
The Tigers 2-1 win against the Astros was the largest upset in MLB in the last 15 seasons. pic.twitter.com/fU3s46uwfJ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 22, 2019
At last happiness
The Tigers haven’t had much to celebrate this season, but this victory certainly qualifies. They had only two hits against Verlander, who threw a complete game, but both were home runs. A fifth-inning blast from Ronny Rodriguez made it 1-0. Chirinos tied it up 1-1 in the seventh, but Hicks gave Detroit the lead in the ninth.
“That’s the biggest win for us in a long, long time, especially against a premium team like that, a World Series contender and Verlander on the mound,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said, according to ESPN.com.
On the other side, it’s a frustrating loss for the Astros, who clearly were pressing in the late innings. Jose Altuve got thrown out at third base to end the eighth inning, so base-running mistakes were part of it, too.
But you don’t get to be that big of an upset victim unless you’re good enough to be a big favorite, and the Astros are still on the short list of World Series contenders.
🚨 JOHN HICKS FOR THE LEAD 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Y8x1FhQAyP
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 22, 2019
