The pitcher who stands between the Detroit Tigers and the next round of the playoffs comes from his own city

DETROIT – The pitcher who stands between the Detroit Tigers and the next round of the playoffs came from their own city.

Hunter Brown, the 26-year-old right-hander who started Game 2 for the Houston Astros, played his college ball at Wayne State University, less than three miles from Comerica Park.

Brown spent three seasons at Wayne State from 2017-19. He struck out 178 batters in 159.2 innings and posted a 3.33 ERA during that time.

Brown was a fifth-round pick by the Astros in 2019 and it only took three years for him to make his MLB debut.

The Tigers and Brown have a long history. In his second career start, he returned to Detroit and pitched six solid innings to beat his hometown team. The Tigers managed just two runs and struck out six times.

Brown split his two starts against the Tigers last year, allowing four runs in a loss to start his season and then allowing nine runs en route to a win in late August.

That year, he dominated Detroit in two games on May 11 (in relief) and June 14 (in the start), throwing a total of 12 innings and allowing just 10 hits and one run while recording 16 strikeouts.

Most of the batters Brown faced in those games are in Wednesday's lineup, including Kerry Carpenter, Matt Vierling, Riley Greene, Colt Keith, Spencer Torkelson, Zach McKinstry and Jake Rogers.

We'll see if the Tigers can finally compete against the Detroit native in what is by far their most important head-to-head matchup.

It won't be easy. Brown has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since late May, posting a 2.31 ERA and striking out 138 over 132.2 innings.

But the Tigers have been one of the best teams in baseball since their last meeting, so it might not be that easy for Brown either.