The less said about the Yankees’ performance in Canada, the better. After two horrid games in Toronto, the Yankees must now win three games in a row to save their season. Elsewhere, there was just one
other game on Sunday, with the Mariners and Tigers getting back at it while the National League rested. Seattle and Detroit played a thriller in Game 1, and sent out Luis Castillo and Tarik Skubal, respectively, for Game 2.
American League Division Series Game 2
Mariners 3, Tigers 2
(Series tied, 1-1)
The Mariners faced a daunting task, needing to bounce back after a crushing extra-inning defeat in Game 1, and having to do it against the man favored to win his second-consecutive Cy Young Award. Skubal was mostly dominant, but the Mariners did well enough that they held the lead when the left-hander exited.
That was largely thanks to the exploits of Jorge Polanco. In the fourth inning of a 0-0 game, Skubal fell behind Polanco 2-0, and grooved a get-me-over (well, as get-me-over as a 92 mph slider from Skubal can be) breaking ball over the middle of the plate. Polanco got all of it, drilling it to left field for a solo shot and a 1-0 lead:
Polanco returned to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, the score still 1-0, and this time worked the count full. Skubal again gave him a pitch to hit, this time a 99-mph sinker middle-middle, and again Polanco didn’t miss, lofting another high fly to left for his second homer and a 2-0 advantage:
That was just about all Seattle could manage against Skubal, who was dominant when he wasn’t facing Polanco. Not once were the Mariners able to put multiple runners on in one inning against Skubal; despite what many commentators (perhaps even ones calling the Yankees-Blue Jays ALDS) like to preach, it can actually be extremely difficult to play for contact and try to string together rallies in the postseason against the game’s best pitchers. Skubal struck out nine and walked one and largely looked like his typically excellent self, but Seattle was able to get him out of the game with the lead in hand.
Castillo and Seattle manager Dan Wilson also had a hand in ensuring the Mariners got out ahead. Castillo was effective, shutting out the Tigers over 4.2 innings, but he did battle control at times, issuing four walks, and when Castillo put two on with two out in the fifth inning, Wilson was aggressive, wasting no time going to his bullpen. He first went to Gabe Speier, who struck out Kerry Carpenter to strand two and keep Detroit scoreless:
Speier worked a clean sixth, and Eduard Bazardo handled the seventh, as the Mariners went into the eighth still up 2-0. Matt Brash entered, and Detroit finally broke through. Gleyber Torres worked a leadoff walk, and Riley Greene reached on an error by Josh Naylor. With one down, Spencer Torkelson lined one down the right-field line that just barely stayed fair, good for a game-tying two-run double:
But with Skubal at last out of the game, the Mariners suddenly found themselves able to produce a rally for themselves. Cal Raleigh doubled off Kyle Finnegan with one down, and Julio Rodríguez followed with a double of his own, quickly re-establishing the Seattle advantage:
It was a satisfying scene from a Seattle perspective, their two stars combining to take control of the game at a critical juncture. Though the Mariners weren’t able to drive home Rodríguez and tack on any insurance, Andrés Muñoz ensured that wouldn’t have been necessary. Muñoz breezed through the bottom of the Detroit order, working a perfect ninth to secure Seattle its first playoff home win since Game 5 of the 2001 ALDS:
Both ALDS series are off today, and will pick back up tomorrow. These two will start off in the Motor City at 4:08 p.m. EST, with Detroit sending out Jack Flaherty to oppose Seattle’s Logan Gilbert in front of their own raucous fans.
