With their backs against the wall, the Detroit Tigers put together a stirring performance to crush the Seattle Mariners and force a winner-take-all Game 5 in the ALDS on Wednesday.
On a beautiful fall day with perfect temps and perfect skies, Casey Mize opened up in this must-win game with a clean 1-2-3 inning. Randy Arozarena grounded out sharply to Zach McKinstry at third. Mize then punched out Cal Raleigh with a good splitter and got Julio Rodriguez on a routine fly ball to left, though he and Raleigh were
able to fight off some good pitches along the way.
The Tigers don’t have a good track record against Mariners starter Bryce Miller at all through three starts, but no one else has had much trouble with the right-handed depth starter. The Tigers really needed to get out to a good start and their first good lead in the series. It didn’t go that way as Kerry Carpenter popped out on a meatball of a slider up and over the middle of the plate. Gleyber Torres was dusted by a good fastball in on his hands. A swinging bunt from Colt Keith made for an easy inning for Miller.
Mize carved up Jorge Polanco with some nasty splits to open the second inning, and the pitch looked very good early on. That would be a key for him as the Mariners will massacre fastballs if they get too many over the plate. The problem is that you can’t get predictable by throwing too many splitters and sliders early with the Mariners expecting to see few fastballs in the zone. Josh Naylor was looking soft and flicked a splitter just fair down the right field line for a double. That brought the dangerous Eugenio Suarez to the dish. Mize worked away, then in, then down, giving the right-handed slugger a lot to deal with. Suarez took a 1-2 pitch down and away but whiffed on the splitter.
In the meantime, Naylor could be observed pointing out Dingler’s setup location with no subtlety from second base on each pitch. In the old days this would get you a fastball to the ribs immediately upon your next at-bat. Dominic Calzone got a splitter down first pitch, and grounded an RBI single into right field to make it 1-0. Mize did nearly plunk Victor Robles with a 2-2 fastball, but it wasn’t intentional as the Tigers had a game to win. Instead, Mize missed away with his 35th pitch to walk Robles and get Calzone into scoring position. He bounced back to blow J.P. Crawford away with a fastball to strand two.
Riley Greene grounded out to first to open the bottom half. Torkelson got two fastballs down in the zone, taking the first for a strike and fouling off one more on the outer edge to go down 0-2. Miller tried the same spot and Tork flew out to Robles on the warning track in right field. Zach McKinstry got a first pitch heater and lined a single to center field for the Tigers first hit. The Mariners left nearly the entire right side of the infield open for Dillon Dingler while they kept a close eye on McKinstry at first. Dingler hammered a ball to center that died just short of the warning track for the final out of the inning. Some hard contact, and zero to show for it. Rinse and repeat.
The top of the order was up again in the top of the third. Leadoff man Arozarena lined out to McKinstry on the first pitch he saw. Mize fell behind 3-0 to Raleigh and the slugger took a fastball down the middle before Mize predictably missed with the splitter to walk him. The Tigers bullpen was already starting to get loose, but getting six innings from the Tigers bullpen seemed like insanity as a plan despite having Troy Melton to potentially go two frames. He bounced back to get ahead of Rodriguez 0-2 and blew him away with a sinker for the second out. Four straight fastballs got him ahead of Polanco as well, and after several fouls Mize dropped in a front door splitter for strike three.
Parker Meadows popped out on the first pitch he saw to open the bottom of the third in inspiring fashion. Javier Báez popped out on a sweeper in the heart of the zone. Kerry Carpenter chased a splitter away. WOOF. Miller has just cleared 30 pitches and was cruising. Hope of getting to him before he settled in and forcing Wilson into an early move to the bullpen under duress were now lost.
Instead, AJ Hinch turned to his bullpen, bringing on Tyler Holton to face Naylor in the five spot. Mize finished with six strikeouts and one earned run allowed, and pitched reasonably well, but Hinch went with the early hook and it did not work out. A bouncer was tipped by Holton and skipped through Báez for a single, though there was no play to be made anyway. Suarez lined a single to left, and Dan Wilson put Mitch Garver in to pinch-hit for the left-handed hitting Calzone. Naylor continued to signal from second base, and violent thoughts began to enter your intrepid recapper’s mind. Holton seemed distracted, walking Garver, and Hinch went straight to the mound to bring in Kyle Finnegan.
Nice spot to come into. Bases loaded and no outs in an elimination game you’re losing. Finnegan did a nice job, getting a quick double play ball off the bat of Robles to Báez for a 6-4-3 double play. Naylor scored from third for a 2-0 Mariners lead, and Finnegan popped up Crawford behind home plate to end the inning.
Despite his atrocious 2025 numbers, Bryce Miller was pitching a pretty good game, so credit to him, but the Tigers still look like a bottom five offense. Torres greeted him with a line drive single to start the bottom of the fourth, and it felt like now or never time for the Tigers. Keith lined a foul down the right field line that briefly raised hopes, but the next pitch was a sharp one hopper right to Naylor. He tagged Torres right there and stepped on first, and yeah the Tigers are cooked, folks. Greene bounced out to Naylor on Miller’s 34 pitch and Comerica Park hummed with boos as the fourth inning ended with a whimper.
I cracked a window at this point and caught the mild fall air and the sound of the bright leaves of oak, poplar, and maple rustling in the breeze and across the faded green grass. My thoughts turned to sand dunes, hikes and bikes in the northern forests, kayak fishing for largemouth bass, the bright low angled sunshine of late days in autumn skipping off every surface…anything to moderate the ominous cloud of doom growing in the baseball compartment of my brain.
But no, the postseason is special. Don’t tell us the odds. Was it over when the Germans blew up the Maine? I made a fresh cup of 4:30 p.m. coffee that will no doubt haunt me later, and thought of the immortal words of one Josey Wales.
“Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. ‘Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That’s just the way it is.”
If you haven’t seen the Outlaw Josey Wales, well I’m sorry for you.
Arozarena singled to lead off the fifth. A pitch got away from Dingler to get the runner to second and Raleigh drilled an RBI single to right field. 3-0 Mariners. Louder boos now. Finnegan did get out of the inning without further trouble.
Torkelson flared a single to center to start the bottom of the fifth. The “let’s go Tigers” chant sprang up as the fanbase tried like heck to will their team to do something. McKinstry took a 2-1 fastball down the gut, and then flailed at a splitter down and away, bouncing into a force of Torkelson at second. Ace lefty Gabe Speier was warm in the bullpen as Dingler stepped into the box. The Tigers catcher came through, smoking a line drive past Arozarena, who ran too aggressive a route trying to get to a ball he had no chance on, and to the wall in left centerfield for an RBI double. 3-1 Mariners, and Wilson immediately brought on Speier to face Meadows.
Hinch decided to use his only strong bench weapon, turning to Jahmai Jones, and Jones immediately smoked a line drive double down the left field line. 3-2 Mariners. Now the crowd could finally get fired up as Báez stepped to the dish in a somewhat favorable matchup though Speier is one of the tougher lefty relievers in the game. Báez got a 1-2 breaker down and in and briefly brought the crowd to their feet with a towering fly ball just foul down the left field line. A breaker in the dirt made it 2-2. Speier came in with a fastball and Báez torched it back up the middle for an RBI single that tied the game. Huge knocks from Dingler, Jones, and Báez.
This also made Speier moot, and meant that Wilson would have to go with all right-handed pitchers the rest of the way.
While Speier locked in on Carpenter with one out in the inning, Báez immediately got a great jump and comfortably stole second base to get into scoring position. Ah yes, I remember the first half Tigers. Those were good times.
Carpenter battled the lefty, fouling off a pair of 1-2 pitches before bouncing out to first where he and Naylor collided as Naylor collected the ball in the baseline. Carpenter went down but was fine and laughing about it. Again thoughts of drilling Naylor with a fastball entered my mind. Sorry, I was raised pretty old school. Báez moved to third with two outs. The Mariners elected to walk Torres to get Speier a matchup against the left-handed hitting Colt Keith. Hinch wanted to keep his lefties in the game, so Keith hit, but bounced out to Naylor to end the inning.
So, brand new ballgame, but now it was a duel of bullpen’s the rest of the way with several of the best relievers in the series out of the game. The Tigers bullpen is fresher, and the Mariners haven’t seen Will Vest much, but Holton and Finnegan were already out of the game. Troy Melton was going to be needed for some length as he took the mound, and Wenceel Pérez took over from Jones as the center fielder with Meadows out of the game.
Melton got a soft tapper from Suarez for the first out, then carved up Luke Raley in a pinch-hit appearance for Garver. He got ahead of Robles, but the outfielder worked a full count. Melton just missed down with a heater to issue a walk with the left-handed hitter Crawford up next. The Tigers really needed a scoreless, quick inning here to keep the momentum going. Instead, Crawford flicked a single to left that caught Greene in between trying to slide or just trap it. That brought Arozarena to the dish with an opportunity to really let the air out of the Tigers’ tires. Instead, Melton dialed up the gas for two strikes and got a routine flyout to center field. Whew.
Melton needs to be just a little sharper to realize his full potential, but you’ve gotta love the moxie. For the most part he went right after the Mariners in that inning with no fear, and the stuff is filthy.
And then, blessedly, Riley Greene got a hanging breaking ball from Speier and crushed it for a towering, 454 foot solo shot to right to lead off the bottom of the sixth. 4-3 Tigers and you KNOW that felt good. Dan Wilson strode to the mound, his ace lefty having eaten a full mouthful of dirt, and now Comerica Park was rocking.
Eduard Bazardo came on, and Torkelson greeted him with a ground ball down the third base line that got past Suarez and the Tigers first baseman cruised into second base. The Mariners didn’t like the call but that’s not challengeable, so shut up Mariners. McKinstry took a pair of breaking balls out of the zone, and then spanked a sharp single through the right side. Torkelson rambled home to make it 5-3 and there were still no outs in the inning.
At this point, Dan Wilson was feeling a little something, I guarantee it. A certain Cy Young winner awaits in Game 5 in Seattle.
Bazardo fell behind 2-0 to Dingler before pouring in a pair of fastballs for a called strike and a foul tip. And then Zach McKinstry made another really frustrating blunder in this series by getting picked off first by Bazardo. The Tigers chose to challenge, and replay showed a very close play, but McKinstry just didn’t get his fingertips to the bag in time. That’s how you stall a rally. Dingler took a slider away out of the zone but Chris Guccione rang him up anyway. Wenceel Pérez got his first at-bat of the game and went down to get a breaking ball, hooking it down the right field line for a double that would’ve scored McKinstry. Still, the bats were finally alive and it was good to see.
And then Javier Báez came to the dish. He got a 1-0 slider right down the gut and murdered it to left field for a two-run shot. Postseason Báez is an experience. El Mago for real. What a shot to blow this one open after the pickoff stalled things for a moment. Kerry Carpenter flew out, but it was 7-3 Tigers through six.
We noted in our assessment of the Tigers chances in this one that the Mariners bullpen is probably a little taxed, and that the Tigers have seen all their best guys three times already. So it proved.
Melton popped Raleigh out to shortstop to open the seventh and then carved up Rodriguez with a nasty split. He was really settling in and feeling it now. A splitter dropped for strike three fooled Polanco, and in what felt like less than a minute, the Tigers were back to the plate.
The floodgates stayed open in the bottom half. Carlos Vargas took over, and Torres greeted him with a high fly ball to right that just kept carrying out for a leadoff solo shot up the tunnel. 8-3 Tigers. Yes, crush them. Keith grounded out, and Greene made another big deep to left center but Rodriguez ran it down at the warning track. Good swings from Riley Greene are a sight for sore eyes. Torkelson battled Vargas for 11 pitches, but ultimately popped out and it was on to the eighth inning.
Tigers fans wanted to see no one but Melton, and so it would prove.
Naylor led off the inning with a single to center, and yes I loathe this man. It was irrelevant quickly, as Melton erased him on a double play ball that went 5-4-3 off the bat of Suarez and then popped up Raley to end the inning. Easy work for the rook.
At this point, there was no point letting anyone get a look at Will Vest, so it did seem likely that the Tigers would stick with Melton since he’s burnt for Game 5 anyway.
McKinstry lined a single to open the bottom of the eighth, and the hitting bug had finally taken hold of the Tigers after a long, long absence. Vargas wild pitched him to second as Dingler worked into a 2-2 count. That at-bat ended in a walk, and so it was two-on with no outs, and the Tigers looked to keep the momentum rushing in their veins.
Wilson brought in Luke Jackson, who briefly was part of the Tigers reliever carousel at mid-season, in place of Vargas, and Wenceel Pérez lifted a deep fly ball that Arozarena mis-read and then barely hauled in on the warning track by the home bullpen. McKinstry tagged and took third, and Báez stepped to the dish with a 2 for 3 day, a homer, three RBI, and a stolen base to his credit already. A chopper to third scored McKinstry as Báez just beat out a potential double play turn. 9-3 Tigers. Make it four RBI on the day for Báez. Carpenter flew out, and the Mariners were down to their final three outs.
I can understand AJ Hinch’s desire to keep the Tigers boot on the Mariners neck, but it was surprising to see Will Vest take the mound in the ninth with a six-run lead. Personally I would’ve preferred the Mariners come into Game 5 with only one look at him. So be it. Vest wrapped up the third 1-2-3 and the capacity crowd sent their team off on the road once more with a huge, stadium rocking ovation.
When the Tigers were down 3-0 in this one, I have rarely felt so low as a Tigers fans since a certain David Ortiz moment over a decade ago. The offense looked as lifeless as they have for a month in the early going against Miller. Kudos to the whole club for battling on until they finally broke through. And when they broke through, they poured more and more gas on the fire until this one was a foregone conclusion. Just a huge win and a very gutsy performance from a club that has been pretty easy to malign over the last month.
LHP Tarik Skubal will now presumably duel RHP George Kirby on Friday night in Seattle for all the marbles. We’ll see if Dan Wilson agrees, as their starter isn’t announced yet. This has been one heck of an exciting series and both teams have played well. Game 5 has the makings of a classic. Let’s hope Skubal and the boys can close the deal.