Mariners Even Series with Tigers after Seesaw Eighth

Cal Raleigh scores the go-ahead run for the Mariners in Game Two of the 2025 ALDS against the Tigers

Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images

October 5, 2025

ALDS Game 2: Mariners 3, Tigers 2

A seesaw eighth inning after a brilliantly pitched game by both starting pitchers gave the Seattle Mariners a hard-fought 3–2 win over the visiting Detroit Tigers Sunday night in Game Two of the American League Division Series. Mariners starter Luis Castillo limited the normally potent Tigers to one hit but walked four. This only allowed him to last 4 2/3 innings despite not allowing any runs. Tigers starter and AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal held the Mariners to five hits across seven innings, their only two runs coming on a pair of Jorge Polanco solo homers. “It was a well-pitched game on both sides,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said in the postgame press conference.

“I give our guys a ton of credit,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said later in the postgame press conference. “Number one, this was a bounce-back game for us, and they did just that. To lose the lead late like that (but) come right back and score a run was huge. Those at-bats by Julio and Cal were tremendous and (brought) a huge momentum shift back to our dugout.”

Mariners – Tigers Game Summary

The Mariners opened the scoring in the fourth on a one-out Jorge Polanco solo homer to the Mariners bullpen in left-center. It was the first Mariners hit since Randy Arozarena singled to lead off the bottom of the first. Polanco made it a 2–0 Mariners lead in the sixth with a no-doubt missile to straightaway left.

The Tigers took advantage of a misplay in the top of the eighth to tie the game. With Gleyber Torres on first, and one batter after reliever Matt Brash struck Kerry Carpenter for a big first out, Riley Greene smoked a hot grounder to first. Josh Naylor, setting up to make a throw to second, couldn’t come up with it, and everyone was safe. A bright side was that the ball stayed in the infield, so no one advanced multiple bases. It did not matter, however. Spencer Torkelson followed with a double to the wall in right, scoring both Torres and Greene to make the score 2–2.

The Mariners responded in the bottom of the same inning. A one-out double to right by Cal Raleigh gave Julio Rodriguez a golden RBI opportunity. He capitalized, cracking a double down the left-field line to score Raleigh. This gave the Mariners the 3–2 lead that they held to the finish, as closer Andres Munoz silenced the Tigers in the ninth.

“Cal got it going right there,” Rodriguez said in the postgame press conference. “I was really happy to be able to follow through on that and grab the lead again. And (it) set the table for (Muñoz) to do his job.”

What Went Right for the Tigers

Starting Pitching

Skubal was terrific, with his only blemishes being the two Polanco homers. “His stuff was good,” Hinch said. “Polanco got — first one was a slider, and he hits the homer and hit another homer. You don’t see the same guy get good swings against Tarik very often. But other than that, I thought there was a walk in there. There were a few pitches that I think he didn’t execute. But all in all, he did a tremendous job of keeping us in the game and keeping it right where it was.”

Forced Lots of Pitches from Mariners Starter

It took 51 pitches for Castillo to get through the first two innings, 25 in the first and 26 in the second.

Capitalized on Miscue in Eighth

Brash has been tough all season. So when the Naylor error turned a possible side-retiring double play into runners on first and second with one out, the Tigers needed to take advantage. They did exactly that with Torkelson’s two-run double.

What Went Wrong for the Tigers

Jorge Polanco

Polanco was a thorn in Skubal’s side, going 2-for-3 off the Tigers ace with two solo homers. He also got a strange broken-bat infield single in the eighth off Kyle Finnegan before Leo Rivas pinch-ran for him. “He is such a good baseball player,” Rodriguez beamed. “He’s a grinder. All year long he’s been having great at-bats, coming (up) clutch in so many situations.” He later added, “I’m really happy that he’s our teammate and he’s playing for us because he can do what he did tonight for us, and it’s pretty unbelievable.”

The Bottom of the Eighth

The Mariners retook the lead one half-inning after coughing it up. Raleigh and Rodriguez’s consecutive doubles did the damage. “A couple of their good hitters did a good job of hitting pitches that Finnegan left up in the zone,” Hinch said.

Lack of Offense

The Tigers only managed three hits and eight baserunners against the Mariners. Additionally, they batted 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Of their seven runners left on base, four were in scoring position.

What Went Right for the Mariners

Pitching in the First Seven Innings

Castillo and Speier combined to hold the Tigers scoreless on one hit and four walks, striking out five across the first six innings. Bazardo followed suit in the seventh, allowing one harmless hit in a scoreless frame.

The Bottom of the Eighth

Raleigh and Rodriguez, two of the Mariners’ big bats, hit back-to-back doubles to give the Mariners the lead, as mentioned earlier.

The Ninth

“Muny (Muñoz) coming in there in the ninth to slam the door,” Wilson said, “this is what it’s like. This is playoff baseball, so you’re going to see this, and it’s good to come up on the top side of this one.” Muñoz pitched a 1-2-3 inning, his ninth out in a two-day span. He was ranked the #1 AL closer in Reliever Roundup & Bullpen Bonanza’s rankings for much of the season, and this is a good example as to why.

Hitting with Runners in Scoring Position

The Mariners batted 2-for-5 with runners in scoring position, taking advantage of their few opportunities to score.

What Went Wrong for the Mariners

The Top of the Eighth Inning

The Naylor error opened the door for the Tigers to tie the game, and they capitalized.

Quick Hits

Had the 2–0 lead held, it would have been the first time in major league history that a postseason game (either playoff or World Series) ended 2–0 with both runs scoring on solo homers by the same guy. The matter is academic, however, as the eighth inning changed the outcome.

Polanco had the fourth multi-homer game in Mariners postseason history, joining Jay Buhner (‘95 ALCS G3), Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez (‘95 ALDS G4), and Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr (‘95 ALDS G1). (Hat tip to Sarah Langs via X)

This was the first time Skubal yielded two homers to the same guy in the same game since Paul Goldschmidt took him deep twice on August 25, 2021. (H/t to Céspedes Family BBQ via X)

Looking Ahead

Brash, despite getting a blown save, managed to get the win as Finnegan took the loss, both in relief. Muñoz pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the save.

The series, now tied at 1–1, will shift to Comerica Park in Detroit for Games Three and Four. After an off-day for travel, Game Three will be Tuesday, October 7. Jack Flaherty (8–15, 4.64 ERA in the regular season) will start for the Tigers against Logan Gilbert (6–6, 3.44 ERA in the regular season) of the Mariners. First pitch is scheduled for 4:08 Eastern/1:08 Pacific, with national television coverage on FS1.