10/7/25

(Detroit, MI) A three-hour rain delay drew out the wait for the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers as the teams met in a pivotal game three at Comerica Park. It would be the first home game for the Tigers since September 21st, a game which they lost their seventh consecutive game at home. Back in July, the Mariners swept a three-game series with the Tigers where they faced Detroit’s top three starters, which gave the M’s a bit of confidence as the series shifted to Detroit.

Of course with a lengthy rain delay, the starting pitching would be challenged as both teams sent veteran arms to the mound. Seattle would go with their Opening Day starter in Logan Gilbert (6-6, 3.44 ERA) in what would be his second career postseason start. For Detroit, it would be Jack Flaherty (8-15, 4.64 ERA) taking the ball in game three. Last postseason, Flaherty allowed 18 runs in 22 innings with nine walks and 15 strikeouts in the Dodgers run to the World Series championship.

Mariners 8, Tigers 4 (Game 3, Seattle leads series 2-1)

Both starting pitchers, Logan Gilbert and Jack Flaherty, did not seem affected by the three-hour rain delay as they came out dealing early. Detroit would get a single in each of the first two innings, but nothing came of them. Seattle’s first hit came in the top of the 3rd as Victor Robles pulled a leadoff double into the left field corner to put a man in scoring position. J.P. Crawford followed with a base hit into left center that looked like it would hold Robles at third. Riley Greene’s throw was not cut off however and ended up getting away from catcher Dillon Dingler. Robles took advantage and scored the game’s first run and it was upheld after a Detroit review. Crawford moved into second on the error and he ended up scoring on an RBI single by Randy Arozarena. Seattle’s bats were starting to warm up as they took a 2-0 lead.

Logan Gilbert stranded a Gleyber Torres two-out double in the bottom of the 3rd to keep it 2-0. In the 4th, Seattle would add on and open it up a little bit. Eugenio Suárez led off the inning in a big way against a familiar foe in Flaherty. An 0-1 fastball sat over the heart of the plate and Geno crushed it over the bullpens in left field. It was his first home run of the postseason and 50th of 2025 and extended the Seattle lead to 3-0.

Seattle was not done in the 4th and continued to pull away. Walks to Dominic Canzone and J.P. Crawford put a couple on with one out and Detroit was already into their bullpen. Tommy Kahnle bounced back from walking the Mariners shortstop with a strikeout of Randy Arozarena for the second out of the inning. He could not beat Cal Raleigh as the MVP candidate came through with a base hit back up the middle. Canzone scored without a throw, giving Raleigh his first RBI of the postseason and making it 4-0 in the process.

Detroit would put some pressure on Seattle’s Opening Day starter in the bottom of the 5th but it was self-inflicted. Logan Gilbert hit Dillon Dingler on a 3-2 pitch to begin the inning before Parker Meadows laid down a bunt. While Dingler moved up to second, Geno made a phenomenal play at third to at least get Meadows for the first out. Javy Báez would drop a base hit into right to put runners on the corners. The always dangerous Kerry Carpenter came to the plate looking to replicate his huge home run in game one. Carpenter moved up into the leadoff spot to put pressure on Dan Wilson, but the Seattle manager left his starter out there. Carpenter sent a grounder right to Jorge Polanco at second who would get it to Crawford for one, but the relay to first was a terrible throw that Josh Naylor couldn’t pick. Instead of an inning-ending double play, it was just a single out which allowed Dingler to score and get the Tigers on the board.

J.P. Crawford didn’t get an error for the failed double play but it was a play he knew he should have made and he would make it up to his teammates rather quickly. In the top of the 6th, Crawford got that run back with one swing as he crushed a sweeper at the bottom of the zone out to right field. Crawford knew it was gone immediately and dropped his bat to circle the bases with the Mariners lead back up to 5-1.

In a playoff series, starting pitching is so crucial because it builds momentum for one side while not allowing the other side to build any sort of positive momentum. Great pitching also allows less bullpen arms to be used and that is exactly what Logan Gilbert delivered on Tuesday. In his second career playoff start, Gilbert dominated, going six innings and allowing just one run on four hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. With all the talk about his filthy splitter, Gilbert utilized his slider more and kept the Tiger hitters uncomfortable before passing the baton to the bullpen.

Matt Brash sat the Tigers down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 7th and the pressure was taken off the bullpen in the 8th. Luke Raley entered the game as a pinch hitter and was hit by a pitch to put a man on with one out. Victor Robles hit a fly ball to right center that was dropped by Kerry Carpenter in a huge break for the M’s. Runners were on second and third with just one out and J.P. Crawford got the job done with a sacrifice fly to left. It was a second RBI for Crawford and extended the Seattle lead to 6-1.

Eduard Bazardo mowed down the Tigers in order in the 8th to send this game to the final inning. More fireworks came for Seattle in the top half against Brenan Hanifee. Randy Arozarena began the inning with a double to right before Cal Raleigh had his postseason moment. Cal got a sinker on the outside corner and drove it the other way to left center. It would land in the bullpen before hopping to a Mariner fan wearing a shirt that said “Dump 61 Here” to which Cal obliged. It was his first homer of the postseason and his 61st of 2025 and made it 8-1 with three outs left for the Mariners to get.

Of course it wouldn’t be easy. Caleb Ferguson came on for the final three outs but struggled mightily. Jake Roberts singled against the lefty before he walked Jahmai Jones. Spencer Torkelson continued his nice series with a two-run double to right to make it 8-3. Andy Ibáñez pinch hit for Victor Robles and singled to right to bring in Torkelson and make it 8-4 with still nobody out. Dan Wilson had to bring in closer Andrés Muñoz as momentum started to build for Detroit. Muñoz would get Dillon Dingler to fly out to left for the first out. Things looked like they would get worse as Parker Meadows smoked a line drive over towards the right field line. However, Josh Naylor was able to stab it and step on first for a game-ending double play. The offensive outburst finally came for the Mariners as they took a 2-1 series lead over the Tigers with a dominant 8-4 win in game three.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Tigers

• Spencer Torkelson- 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
• Gleyber Torres- 2-4, 2B
• Jack Flaherty (Loss)- 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO

What’s Next

Seattle now needs just one win to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2001. They are guaranteed at least two more games as they will turn around and play in Detroit on Wednesday at 12:08pm in a do-or-die game for the Tigers. If Seattle wins, they will be off until Sunday while the Yankees and Blue Jays finish their series. If the Tigers win, the teams will use Thursday as a travel day before playing a Game Five on Friday night in Seattle.

The Mariners hope to avoid that game five and will turn to Bryce Miller (4-6, 5.68 ERA) in hopes to avoid that. Miller was projected to move to the bullpen for this series, but Bryan Woo’s injury puts Miller into the #4 slot in the rotation. While the numbers aren’t great, Miller showed flashes of his old self in September including an 11 strikeout performance against the Angels. He did not face Detroit in the regular season. In a must-win game for Detroit, they turn to former #1 overall pick in Casey Mize (14-6, 3.87 ERA) in hopes to extend their season. Mize had a strong 2025 and only allowed one hit in three innings in the Wild Card series against Cleveland. He had ups and downs against Seattle in two starts, allowing one hit in 5 2/3 scoreless innings in April before giving up six runs on six hits in three innings against the M’s in July.

MLB Playoff Scores (Monday and Tuesday Nights)

• Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 (Dodgers lead series 2-0)
• Milwaukee Brewers defeat Chicago Cubs 7-3 (Brewers lead series 2-0)
• New York Yankees defeat Toronto Blue Jays 9-6 (Blue Jays lead series 2-1)

MLB Playoff Schedule Wednesday

• Seattle Mariners @ Detroit Tigers (Game 4, 12:08)- Bryce Miller (4-6, 5.68 ERA) vs. Casey Mize (14-6, 3.87 ERA)
• Milwaukee Brewers @ Chicago Cubs (Game 3, 2:08pm First Pitch)- Quinn Priester (13-3, 3.32 ERA) vs. Jameson Taillon (11-7, 3.68 ERA)
• Toronto Blue Jays @ New York Yankees (Game 4, 4:08pm First Pitch)- TBD vs. Cam Schlittler (4-3, 2.96 ERA)
• Philadelphia Phillies @ Los Angeles Dodgers (Game 3, 6:08pm First Pitch)- Aaron Nola (5-10, 6.01 ERA) vs. Yoshinobo Yamamoto (12-8, 2.49 ERA)

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