10/5/25

(Seattle, WA) Game two on Sunday night in Seattle felt like a must-win for the Seattle Mariners before they would head to Detroit for the next two games of the series if necessary. To make matters worse, Tarik Skubal would be the Tigers starter in game two as he is well on his way to winning a second consecutive American League Cy Young. The Seattle U product struggled against the Mariners this season, losing both matchups and posting an ERA over 5.00.

Seattle would turn to Luis Castillo who put together and up and down season with most of the ups coming at home. La Piedra entered Sunday with solid postseason numbers over his first two career trips to the postseason (Cincinnati in 2020 and Seattle in 2022) but would have to be the solid rock in a desperate situation for the M’s.

Mariners 3, Tigers 2 (Game 2)

Luis Castillo had a long and taxing first couple of innings, needing 50 pitches to get the first six outs of his day. Tarik Skubal had less trouble as he used 46 pitches in his first three innings. Detroit only got one threat against the M’s early as in the 2nd they put runners on second and third with two outs, but Castillo got out of it with a strikeout of Parker Meadows to keep things scoreless early.

Seattle never really put together a strong threat against Tarik Skubal but in true Mariners fashion, they would get to him with the long ball. In the bottom of the 4th, Seattle once again struck first with a home run. Jorge Polanco put together a very nice season in his return to Seattle after a flop of a year in 2024. He really put the stamp on his second season in the PNW and capitalized on a 2-0 slider in the middle of the plate. Polanco drove it out to left center for a solo shot to give Seattle the 1-0 lead.

In the 5th, Castillo issued a one-out walk to Javy Báez before erasing him on a Parker Meadows fielder’s choice. With a man on first and two outs, the situation got tricky as Gleyber Torres singled to right to put men on the corners for the very dangerous Kerry Carpenter. In Game 1, Dan Wilson left George Kirby in to face Carpenter and it didn’t work as the lefty hit a two-run homer. This time, Wilson pulled his starter and brought in lefty Gabe Speier. This move worked as Speier got Carpenter swinging to escape the jam. Castillo did not go long but went 4 2/3 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed but four walks and three strikeouts. He kept the Tigers off the board against Skubal and the Mariners couldn’t ask for much more from their veteran.

Speier retired the Tigers in order in the 6th and in the home half they got Skubal again. With nobody on and two outs, Jorge Polanco came back to the plater and once again had to battle to a full count. The lefty challenged him with a 99-mph fastball in the heart of the plate but Polo was sitting on hit. He hammered his second home run of the game out to Edgar’s Cantina to send T-Mobile Park into a frenzy. He became just the second player to ever have a multi-homer game against Skubal and put Seattle up 2-0.

Eduard Bazardo had no problems pitching around a two-out single to the 7th and we went to the 8th still 2-0 Mariners. Matt Brash entered but issued a leadoff walk to Gleyber Torres to bring the tying run to the plate. A strikeout of Kerry Carpenter was a sigh of relief and an important first out. Riley Greene looked like he had hit into a double play with a hard grounder to Josh Naylor at first, but it ate up the Mariner first baseman and put runners on first and second. Spencer Torkelson took the air out of T-Mobile Park with a jam-shot double down the right field line. The ball got caught up along the wall, allowing both Torres and Greene to score. While Brash would retire Wenceel Pérez and Dillon Dingler, the damage had been done as the Tigers tied it up 2-2.

Detroit went to their bullpen in the bottom of the 8th with Kyle Finnegan. He started his inning off strong with a strikeout of Randy Arozarena to begin a big inning. Cal Raleigh then came to the plate and he stayed hot by pulling a double down into the right field corner to wake up the PNW. “Julio” chants rained down as J-Rod came to the plate and he continued to dominate in his second trip to the postseason. A 1-0 splitter was pulled down into the left field corner. Cal scored easily as J-Rod erupted in celebration at second base. While he would end up being thrown out at the plate on an Eugenio Suárez groundout, Julio had his moment and made the most of it, giving Seattle a 3-2 lead going into the 9th.

After pitching two innings the night before, Andrés Muñoz came in to try to lockdown a series evening win for Seattle. The All-Star closer looked strong as he quickly struck out Zach McKinstry on three pitches. Javy Báez only saw two pitches as he popped out to Leo Rivas on the infield for the second out. Muñoz would have to work a little bit harder in a nine-pitch battle with Parker Meadows, but a grounder to Josh Naylor at first followed by a flip to Muñoz put this one away. For the first time since 2001, the Seattle Mariners won a home playoff game as they took down the Detroit Tigers 3-2 to even the ALDS at 1-1.

Notable Performances

Tigers

Mariners

• Jorge Polanco- 3-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Julio Rodríguez- 1-4, 2B, RBI
• Luis Castillo (ND)- 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO

What’s Next

Now the series is tied up at 1-1 and the teams are guaranteed to play two more games with games 3 and 4 taking place in Detroit. During the regular season series, Seattle swept the Tigers in Detroit right before the All-Star break when the M’s outscored the Tigers 35-14 in a dominant showing from the M’s and Julio Rodríguez who went 6-12 three homers and six runs batted in over the three games. J-Rod has driven in three of Seattle’s five runs through the first two games of the series.

The two teams get Monday off to travel to Detroit with game 3 coming on Tuesday afternoon at 1:08pm. Both teams have announced their game 3 starters and it will be Logan Gilbert (6-6, 3.44 ERA) getting the start in a pivotal game 3. Gilbert faced the Tigers twice this season, going 10 1/3 innings with 11 hits, five runs (three earned), with three walks and 19 strikeouts. Jack Flaherty (8-15, 4.64 ERA) will take the ball for Detroit after being a huge piece of the Dodgers World Series run last season. Flaherty went 6 1/3 with four hits, two runs, and two walks allowed while striking out seven against Seattle back in July.

MLB Playoff Scores

• Toronto Blue Jays defeat New York Yankees 13-7 (Toronto leads series 2-0)

MLB Playoff Schedule Monday

• Los Angeles Dodgers @ Philadelphia Phillies (Game 2, 3:08pm First Pitch)- Blake Snell (5-4, 2.35 ERA) vs. Jesús Luzardo (15-7, 3.92 ERA)
• Chicago Cubs @ Milwaukee Brewers (Game 2, 6:08pm First Pitch)- Shota Imanaga (9-8, 3.73 ERA) vs. Aaron Ashby (5-2, 2.16 ERA)

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