In a pulse-pounding Game 2 of the American League Division Series, the Seattle Mariners clawed back from a late tie to defeat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 on Sunday night at T-Mobile Park, evening the best-of-five series at 1-1. The victory sends the matchup back to Detroit tied, with Game 3 slated for Tuesday.
The Mariners jumped ahead early against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who entered with a 1.84 ERA but couldn’t contain Seattle’s opportunistic bats. In the fourth inning, second baseman Jorge Polanco crushed a solo home run to left-center, his first of the postseason, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead.
Seattle Mariners on X (formerly Twitter): “THAT BALL IS HISTORY! #SeizeTheMoment pic.twitter.com/9V3KAqoCee / X”
THAT BALL IS HISTORY! #SeizeTheMoment pic.twitter.com/9V3KAqoCee
Polanco wasn’t done; he added a second solo shot in the sixth, a 369-foot blast that extended the advantage to 2-0 and marked the first multi-homer playoff game by a Mariner since Edgar Martínez in 1995.
Seattle Mariners on X (formerly Twitter): “Oops, he did it again. #SeizeTheMoment pic.twitter.com/36E7H5j0c3 / X”
Oops, he did it again. #SeizeTheMoment pic.twitter.com/36E7H5j0c3
Starter Luis Castillo set the tone for Seattle, navigating a rocky start with four walks in his first two innings before settling in. Over 4.2 frames, he surrendered just one hit—a single by Gleyber Torres—while stranding runners and escaping jams, including a standout defensive play by Polanco to rob Parker Meadows in the fifth.
Detroit’s offense, stifled for much of the night, finally awoke in the eighth. Reliever Matt Brash walked the leadoff batter, and first baseman Josh Naylor’s fielding error on a potential double-play ball kept the threat alive. Spencer Torkelson then ripped a two-run double to right-center, knotting the score at 2-2 and forcing Seattle manager Scott Servais to turn to closer Andrés Muñoz earlier than planned.
But the T-Mobile Park crowd of 47,371 erupted in the bottom of the frame. Against Tigers reliever Kyle Finnegan, catcher Cal Raleigh laced a one-out double down the left-field line. Julio Rodríguez, Seattle’s superstar center fielder, followed with a clutch RBI double to the gap, plating Raleigh for the go-ahead run. Muñoz then slammed the door in the ninth, striking out two for his first save of the series.
Seattle Mariners on X (formerly Twitter): “CAL AND JULIO. CLUTCH. #SeizeTheMoment pic.twitter.com/0v51DaT07V / X”
CAL AND JULIO. CLUTCH. #SeizeTheMoment pic.twitter.com/0v51DaT07V
Skubal battled valiantly, firing seven innings with nine strikeouts but absorbing the tough-luck loss after allowing five hits and two earned runs. For the Mariners, Polanco’s heroics earned him game MVP honors in a contest that showcased their resilience after dropping Game 1 3-2 on Saturday.
With the series shifting to Comerica Park, Seattle’s Logan Gilbert (15-8, 3.23 ERA) faces Detroit’s Jack Flaherty in Game 3. The Mariners, playoff mainstays under Servais, look to harness home-field magic turned road grit to advance.
