Javy Báez was tabbed as The Athletic's postseason X-factor for the Tigers going into the Wild Card series, and despite a pretty awful second half and years of poor performance, it wasn't the hardest thing to imagine. Báez has more postseason experience than any of his teammates and was the Cubs' 2016 NLCS MVP, and this would be his first time seeing the postseason with the Tigers.
On Wednesday in the top of the fourth in Game 2, Báez delivered. In his second at-bat, he came up with the bases loaded and two outs, then chopped a fastball up the middle to easily score Riley Greene from third.