Detroit ? The Tigers’ drive to a World Series title hit a pothole Saturday night, but Detroit fans held tight to the bandwagon.

A monthlong celebration of the team’s first postseason appearance since 1987 began with playoff victories over the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics, but hit a sour note when the St. Louis Cardinals coasted to a 7-2 victory in Game One.

Fans said they expected the Tigers to regroup just like they did after the final weekend of the regular season, when they were swept by the lowly Kansas City Royals but went on to defeat the heavily favored Yankees.

“When we folded at the end of the regular season, everyone doubted us,” Floyd Tucker, 38, of Grand Rapids, said on his way out of Comerica Park. “This is a team that has surprised and shocked the rest of the nation time and time again.

“Just know at the end of the day, the title is coming here to Detroit.”

Game Two was scheduled for tonight. The best-of-seven series moves to St. Louis on Tuesday.

A light drizzle fell hours before game time Saturday but gave way to overcast skies and relatively mild 51-degree temperatures. A saxophone player serenaded fans with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” as they eyed souvenir stands, got food or just stood back to soak it all in.

Fans dressed in blue and orange, some wearing face-paint stripes, shouted “Go Tigers!” as the party atmosphere built outside the ballpark and in nearby taverns.