A seesaw eighth inning after a brilliantly pitched game by both starting pitchers gave the Seattle Mariners<\/a> a hard-fought 3\u20132 win over the visiting Detroit Tigers<\/a> Sunday night in Game Two of the American League Division Series. Mariners starter Luis Castillo<\/a><\/strong> 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<\/a><\/strong> held the Mariners to five hits across seven innings, their only two runs coming on a pair of Jorge Polanco<\/a><\/strong> solo homers. \u201cIt was a well-pitched game on both sides,\u201d Tigers manager A.J. Hinch<\/a><\/strong> said in the postgame press conference.<\/p>\n \u201cI give our guys a ton of credit,\u201d Mariners manager Dan Wilson<\/a><\/strong> said later in the postgame press conference. \u201cNumber 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a><\/strong> singled to lead off the bottom of the first. Polanco made it a 2\u20130 Mariners lead in the sixth with a no-doubt missile to straightaway left.<\/p>\n The Tigers took advantage of a misplay in the top of the eighth to tie the game. With Gleyber Torres<\/a><\/strong> on first, and one batter after reliever Matt Brash<\/a><\/strong> struck Kerry Carpenter<\/a><\/strong> for a big first out, Riley Greene<\/a><\/strong> smoked a hot grounder to first. Josh Naylor<\/a><\/strong>, setting up to make a throw to second, couldn\u2019t 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<\/a><\/strong> followed with a double to the wall in right, scoring both Torres and Greene to make the score 2\u20132.<\/p>\n The Mariners responded in the bottom of the same inning. A one-out double to right by Cal Raleigh<\/a><\/strong> gave Julio Rodriguez<\/a><\/strong> a golden RBI opportunity. He capitalized, cracking a double down the left-field line to score Raleigh. This gave the Mariners the 3\u20132 lead that they held to the finish, as closer Andres Munoz<\/a><\/strong> silenced the Tigers in the ninth.<\/p>\n \u201cCal got it going right there,\u201d Rodriguez said in the postgame press conference. \u201cI was really happy to be able to follow through on that and grab the lead again. And (it) set the table for (Mu\u00f1oz) to do his job.\u201d<\/p>\n Skubal was terrific, with his only blemishes being the two Polanco homers. \u201cHis stuff was good,\u201d Hinch said. \u201cPolanco got \u2014 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.\u201d<\/p>\n It took 51 pitches for Castillo to get through the first two innings, 25 in the first and 26 in the second.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s two-run double.<\/p>\n Polanco was a thorn in Skubal\u2019s 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<\/a><\/strong> before Leo Rivas<\/a><\/strong> pinch-ran for him. \u201cHe is such a good baseball player,\u201d Rodriguez beamed. \u201cHe\u2019s a grinder. All year long he\u2019s been having great at-bats, coming (up) clutch in so many situations.\u201d He later added, \u201cI’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.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mariners retook the lead one half-inning after coughing it up. Raleigh and Rodriguez\u2019s consecutive doubles did the damage. \u201cA couple of their good hitters did a good job of hitting pitches that Finnegan left up in the zone,\u201d Hinch said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Raleigh and Rodriguez, two of the Mariners\u2019 big bats, hit back-to-back doubles to give the Mariners the lead, as mentioned earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cMuny (Mu\u00f1oz) coming in there in the ninth to slam the door,\u201d Wilson said, \u201cthis is what it\u2019s 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.\u201d Mu\u00f1oz 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<\/em>\u2019s rankings for much of the season, and this is a good example as to why.<\/p>\n The Mariners batted 2-for-5 with runners in scoring position, taking advantage of their few opportunities to score.<\/p>\n The Naylor error opened the door for the Tigers to tie the game, and they capitalized.<\/p>\n Had the 2\u20130 lead held, it would have been the first time in major league history that a postseason game (either playoff or World Series) ended 2\u20130 with both runs scoring on solo homers by the same guy. The matter is academic, however, as the eighth inning changed the outcome.<\/p>\n Polanco had the fourth multi-homer game in Mariners postseason history, joining Jay Buhner<\/a><\/strong> (\u201895 ALCS G3), Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez<\/a><\/strong> (\u201895 ALDS G4), and Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr (\u201895 ALDS G1). (Hat tip to Sarah Langs via X)<\/p>\n This was the first time Skubal yielded two homers to the same guy in the same game since Paul Goldschmidt<\/a><\/strong> took him deep twice on August 25, 2021. (H\/t to C\u00e9spedes Family BBQ via X)<\/p>\n Brash, despite getting a blown save, managed to get the win as Finnegan took the loss, both in relief. Mu\u00f1oz pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the save.<\/p>\n The series, now tied at 1\u20131, 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<\/a><\/strong> (8\u201315, 4.64 ERA in the regular season) will start for the Tigers against Logan Gilbert<\/a><\/strong> (6\u20136, 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.<\/p>\nMariners \u2013 Tigers Game Summary<\/h3>\n
What Went Right for the Tigers<\/h3>\n
Starting Pitching<\/h4>\n
Forced Lots of Pitches from Mariners Starter<\/h4>\n
Capitalized on Miscue in Eighth<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the Tigers<\/h3>\n
Jorge Polanco<\/h4>\n
The Bottom of the Eighth<\/h4>\n
Lack of Offense<\/h4>\n
What Went Right for the Mariners<\/h3>\n
Pitching in the First Seven Innings<\/h4>\n
The Bottom of the Eighth<\/h4>\n
The Ninth<\/h4>\n
Hitting with Runners in Scoring Position<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the Mariners<\/h3>\n
The Top of the Eighth Inning<\/h4>\n
Quick Hits<\/h3>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
Main Photo:<\/h4>\n