DETROIT – Just when it mattered most, the Detroit Tigers’ bats sprang to life Wednesday, setting up a winner-take-all showdown with the Seattle Mariners in Game 5 of the American League Division series.
Riley Greene, Javier Baez and Gleyber Torres each hammered home runs to help the Tigers to a 9-3 victory over the Mariners in Game 4 of the ALDS.
“We knew our season was on the line,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. “This is not the first elimination game that we’ve played this postseason, and our guys stayed loose and stayed in the game and came up with some really big pitches and some big swings.”
Baez, who homered in a postseason game for the first time since 2017, also drove in four runs as Detroit tied the series at two games apiece.
“He did everything perfectly today,” Hinch said of Baez. “I mean, it was amazing. He just rises to the moment.”
The two teams square off Friday in Game 5 in Seattle with the winner of the best-of-five playoff set advancing to the AL Championship Series. Seattle had won Games 2 and 3 before the Tigers evened the series.
It was the Tigers’ first home victory since Sept. 6, and their nine runs were the most they’ve scored in a postseason game since Game 6 of the 1968 World Series.
“I think when everything clicks together, the pitching and the hitting and everything we do as a team, we can be really dangerous,” Baez said.
The Mariners started the scoring in the second inning when Dominic Canzone singled off of Detroit starter Casey Mize, allowing Josh Naylor to score with two outs.
Mize, who allowed one run on two hits and struck out six, was pulled after only three innings and replaced by Tyler Holton, who teamed up with three other relievers to allow only two runs and six hits over the final six innings.
Holton failed to record an out, loading the bases in the fourth inning. He was replaced by Kyle Finnegan, who got Victor Robles to hit into a double play, allowing Naylor to score from third and give the Mariners a 2-0 advantage.
Seattle raised the lead to 3-0 in the fifth as Cal Raleigh’s line-drive single to right field scored Randy Arozarena.
The Tigers tied the game at 3 in the bottom of the inning as back-to-back RBI doubles by Dillon Dingler and pitch hitter Jahmai Jones scored Zach McKinstry and Dingler, respectively. Jones came home on Baez’s single.
Greene gave the Tigers their first lead since the 11th inning of Game 1 with his 454-feet homer off reliever Gabe Speier (0-1) in the sixth inning. McKinstry then singled to score Spencer Torkelson and push Detroit ahead 5-3.
Three batters later, Baez hit his home run, scoring Wenceel Perez and raising the lead to 7-3.
Torres added to the Tigers’ lead with a 344-foot solo homer in the seventh inning. Baez closed the scoring in the eighth when he drove in McKinstry on a grounder.
Troy Melton (1-1) gave up two hits over three scoreless innings.
Seattle starter Bryce Miller gave up two runs on four hits and struck out two over 4 1/3 innings. Four Mariners relievers gave up seven runs on nine hits.
“Everything’s in front of us, and these guys have done this all season long,” said Seattle manager Dan Wilson. “Where they get in tough situations and they know exactly what to do and they do fight back and they do bounce back.
“I’m not worried about that at all, and no better place to do that than at home. So I think we just continue to do the things we’ve been doing and just get back on the right track on Friday.”
–Bob Tripi, Field Level Media
