Detroit native Hunter Brown dreamed of pitching for the Tigers, now he has to tame them for the Astros

HOUSTON — Hunter Brown is an example of his hometown, a place that prides itself on courage and has a caffeinated football coach who can't stop talking about courage. Dan Campbell calls it the “core foundation” of the Detroit Lions, but if you talk to those who call this city home, you’ll find that’s anything but a cliché.

“This courage has long been felt in the city of Detroit, and Hunter Brown embodies it,” said Ryan Kelley. “Some of that courage and the place where he grew up – in metropolitan Detroit – will help him. He has a competitive background and a fire, and he will be able to channel that.”

Kelley is a native of the Detroit metro area and has coached the local college baseball team for the past 16 seasons. Located less than 2 miles from Comerica Park, Wayne State University's campus represents an inextricable link between both ballclubs – one a Division II darling, the other serving as October's Team of Destiny.

Kelley's practice Tuesday afternoon coincided with the Detroit Tigers' first playoff game in 10 years, so he broadcast Dan Dickerson's radio call over the public address system at Harwell Field for his players to enjoy. The field cleared before a chaotic ninth inning that Kelley watched from the edge of his office chair.

The Tigers' 3-1 win over the Houston Astros left them 27 outs short of continuing their improbable run into the American League playoffs. The man who has to stop it is one of the best players Kelley's program has ever produced, a boy born and raised in Detroit and, for one afternoon, its greatest demon.

“It's very inconvenient. Personally, I grew up as a Detroit Tigers fan. “I will always be a Detroit Tigers fan and a fan of Detroit sports,” Kelley said. “I definitely hope the Tigers do well, but there is some emotion and a lot of connection with Hunter. I want him to be great, I really do. It's unique. I would say I’m grateful that we even have the opportunity to at least discuss this and even talk about it.”

Tuesday evening did not provide an environment for sentimentality. Tarik Skubal pitched six excellent innings with the Astros before Detroit's anonymous relief team wreaked “pitching chaos” and got the final nine outs. After his team left the bases loaded in the ninth inning, Brown answered eight questions at a podium before preparing for the biggest start of his life.

“I try to adopt a playoff mentality all year long and know that every game in the big leagues is really important,” Brown said. “So I’m honestly going to prepare the same way I have all season.”

Houston's entire uneven season rests on Brown's right arm. None of the other 27 players on this team embody the path they have chosen better. Brown reached his lowest point in early May, when everyone around him had already arrived. Brown wasn't the biggest problem in the Astros' 12-24 start, but coaches still acknowledge that a struggling young pitcher with a problem-limiting slug was in danger of a demotion to Triple-A.

Manager Joe Espada and pitching coach Josh Miller suggested a quick trip to the bullpen to “maybe get a start on the season.” Brown obeyed, harassing the Tigers' lineup for five innings with one-run ball in long relief. On May 11, he struck out seven and gave up five at Comerica Park, where his hometown crowd saw a piece of the past.

Six days earlier, Brown began throwing a sinker. Alex Bregman had already suggested it as a way to keep right-handers from leaning over home plate, but watching Seattle starters Bryce Miller and George Kirby use the pitch made Brown want to incorporate it even more. He hadn't used the sinker since his time at Wayne State, and even then it wasn't at the top of his arsenal.

Now it is the playing field from which his season must be viewed. Since Brown began throwing the sinker on May 5, only Chris Sale and Paul Skenes have had a lower ERA than his mark of 2.51. He has completed at least six innings in 19 of his 23 starts in that stretch.

“This courage has long been felt in the city of Detroit and Hunter Brown embodies it,” said Wayne State coach Ryan Kelley. (Thomas Shea/Imagn Images)

Given Detroit's better splits against right-handers, some wondered if Houston would start left-hander Yusei Kikuchi instead of Brown in Game 2. That Espada avoided naming Brown the starter until after Game 1 only reinforced that thought.

“Hunter started Game 2 a long time ago. I just never told you,” Espada said. “He’s one of the best starters in the game. He was one of the best pitchers in the second half. So for me it was a given.”

Tigers manager AJ Hinch could line up left-handers Kerry Carpenter, Colt Keith and Zach McKinstry against Brown on Wednesday, but Brown boasts reverse splits – perhaps another reason Espada always had him in mind for Game 2.

Few pitchers in the sport throw with more confidence than Brown, who has always longed for moments in big spots. During his junior season at Wayne State, coaches debated whether to shut him down and preserve his draft stock.

“He took the ball. “He was recruiting for an NCAA Division II program when he was about to be drafted,” Kelley said. “I remember those moments back and he was still taking the ball when some other prospects might have thought differently. He wanted to pitch. He wanted to compete. And he wanted to help his team win.”

Kelley stays in touch with Brown after each of his starts, sometimes just through a quick text message or voicemail. Some of Brown's Wayne State teammates have met him on various trips this season, including one of his roommates in Toronto. Brown has an offseason home in downtown Detroit, where he walks his dog Whiskey – sometimes in Comerica Park.

Brown is one of nine draft picks in Wayne State's 83-year baseball history. Only Brown and reliever Anthony Bass made it to the major leagues. Brown's rise to Ace puts him on the precipice of becoming the best player the school has ever produced, an outcome he always thought was possible but never said out loud.

Doubt has always plagued Brown, whether from the Division I school that offered him the bullpen catcher job or from countless talent evaluators who questioned whether he could hold up as a major league starter.

The boy from Detroit has proven them all wrong and is where he always thought he would be – on baseball's biggest stage, witnessing another performance by his favorite team.

“Looking back, I think about pitching for them when I was 10 or 11 years old,” Brown said. “A little different now.”

(Photo: Logan Riely/Getty Images)