With three home runs and late rally, Mariners beat Tigers in ALDS Game 3

Heavy rain over United Signal Park delayed the start of the crucial ALDS Game 3 between the Tigers and Mariners by nearly three hours. As soon as it was over, Seattle’s batters rained down on Detroit’s parade. Eugenio Suarez, JP Crawford and Carl Rowley all homered, which was enough to back up the pitching of Logan Gilbert and four Mariners relievers. All told, Seattle won 8-4 and took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

The game starts with a successful challenge. Randy Arozarena was initially ruled a safety as Gleyber Torres’ first-out comeback grazed off Jack Flaherty’s glove, but replay review overturned that call. Seattle’s first batter was narrowly out. A few swings later, Detroit’s starter retired the team after just eight pitches. It was his only easy inning.

The Mariners went right-handed in the second period. Josh Naylor struck out 11 pitches, eventually getting out on Flaherty’s first changeup of the night. The other three batters threw six pitches each. Suarez walked, Jorge Polanco and Dominic Canzoni fanned, and Flaherty walked off the mound and allowed 29 runs, for a total of 37 runs. It was clear that the Tigers’ bullpen was going to be in good shape by the end of the game.

Dillon Dingler’s single gave Detroit a run in the bottom half, but as happened in the first game, Gilbert ended that small threat with a strikeout, leaving the Tigers in trouble. The tall right-hander was never in real trouble during the game, but nonetheless suppressed every sign of Detroit’s rally.

Victor Robles posed a more serious threat to the visitors at the start of the third quarter. Seattle’s eight-hole batter doubled down the left field line, and the game’s second video replay challenge quickly followed. Crawford hit a single to left and Robles grounded out to third… only for the ball to fly home from Dingler to the infield. This time, the lashes are going the Seattle way. Riley Green was charged with an error and the Mariners led 1-0.

After two goals, the score was 2-0. Arozarena hit a single, scoring Crawford and scoring Raleigh, who walked. With Julio Rodriguez entering the batter’s box, Seattle appeared to be on the verge of taking a huge lead. Flaherty was in trouble.

Somehow, he survived. Rodriguez hit a 3-1 heat and then chased a breaking ball off the plate to give the home team a helping hand. One out. Polanco — one of Tarik Skubal’s two homers in Game 2 — continued to fan the curve ball. Two out and Naylor then hit the ball 394 feet, but luckily for Flaherty, the ball sailed into a pitcher-friendly area of ​​the park. Parker Meadows hit a long fly ball to limit Detroit’s deficit to just two runs.

But not for long. After the Tigers stranded a runner for the third straight inning, Suarez took the lead in the fourth inning on Detroit’s night by hitting the heater. Seattle led 3-0 when the ball landed 422 feet from home plate. Two walks and an RBI single by Raleigh followed – Flaherty had already raised for Tommy Kahnle when the big switcher walked into the zone – and the score was 4-0. Had Green not caught the ball Rodriguez hit, things would have been much worse for the Tigers. That’s a steep mountain to climb considering their offensive slump over the past three-plus weeks.

They gave it their all in the fifth inning, although they ultimately only crossed home plate once. Dingler was hit by a pitch, Meadows had a hit, but was struck out by a nice hit by Suarez, and Javier Baez blasted a single to right, pushing the runner to the corner. A Mariners turnover led to a Tigers goal. Gilbert induced a double play, but Kerry Carpenter was safe initially when Naylor couldn’t catch a bad pitch from Crawford. The Tigers then went out in the bottom of the inning, scoring just one run.

The Mariners offense isn’t done yet. In the sixth inning, Crawford extended Brant Hurter’s yardage to 5-1, turning the three-point advantage back into four. It was the shortstop’s second hit of the game and his third at the plate. He later hit a sacrifice fly.

Gilbert’s effort was impressive. Ejected after six innings, Seattle’s starting pitchers allowed just four hits and one run, four no balls and seven strikeouts. He was a slider throughout, throwing 37 of his best breaking balls in 85 pitches. Added 24 four-seamers, 20 splitters and six curveballs. In just his second career postseason start — the first came against Houston in the 2022 ALDS — he was outstanding from the first pitch to the last.

With a strong bullpen and a four-run lead, the Mariners were nine outs away from taking a 2-1 series lead when Matt Brash walked in from the pen to hit the seventh. He got three outs to Zach McKinstry, Dingler and Meadows.

Incompetence in the eighth inning put the Tigers even further out of reach. Luke Raley pitched a single and then reached third when Carpenter’s fly ball from Robles popped out of his glove on an error. Green went on to catch a fly ball from Crawford, but it was deep enough to score Seattle’s sixth run. One inning later, the Mariners had eight runs. Rowley drove deep in the top of the ninth to give Seattle what looked like a pretty safe lead. With an 8-1 record, the team could do nothing but knock out Detroit in a mediocre ninth place finish.

That didn’t happen. The Tigers started the final gasp with a Jack Rogers single to scare the Mariners. Then the bases were loaded, with a two-run double by Spencer Torkelson and a single by Andy Ibáñez. With five batters on the mound and the score suddenly 8-4, Seattle manager Dan Wilson was forced to lift Caleb Ferguson to get closer. Andres Munoz ended up closing the door, but it was just a matter of luck. After Dingler flew out, Meadows hit a .560 xBA line drive directly into Naylor’s glove, and Naylor stepped up first to double-team Ibañez to end the game.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow at a yet-to-be-determined time – with good weather expected – and the Tigers need a win to extend the series. If the Mariners win, they will advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2001. Detroit last played in the ALCS in 2013.