DETROIT — Riley Greene and Javier Báez each connected for home runs during a productive four-run sixth inning, propelling the Detroit Tigers to a 9-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, thus prolonging their season.
By securing a win at Comerica Park, the Tigers guaranteed a Game 5, marking their first triumph at the venue in over a month. Their previous eight games at the park resulted in losses after Tarik Skubal’s 6-0 victory against the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 6, which included Seattle’s 8-4 win on Tuesday.
The crucial series-deciding game is scheduled for Friday in Seattle, where Skubal is set to face George Kirby.
“Presenting the ball to arguably the best pitcher in baseball is one of the simplest and most thrilling tasks I have,” stated Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. “We are boarding a plane headed across the country filled with optimism, largely due to Tarik Skubal’s capabilities.”
The Tigers’ tally of nine runs represents their highest score in a single postseason game since they achieved 13 runs in Game 6 of the 1968 World Series.
Following Detroit’s three-run rally to tie the game in the fifth inning, Greene put the Tigers ahead 4-3 with a lead-off home run against Gabe Speier in the sixth. The 454-foot homer marked the second-longest of Greene’s career, encompassing both regular and postseason play, and stood as the longest at Comerica Park since Gleyber Torres’s 453-foot hit on Aug. 29, 2023.
“That felt fantastic,” Greene expressed about his first postseason home run. “I haven’t made contact with a ball like that in quite some time.”
Spencer Torkelson then hit a double and later scored Detroit’s fifth run on Zach McKinstry’s single, followed by Báez’s two-run shot to make it 7-3, his sixth postseason homer.
Torres added to the home run tally, becoming the third Tigers All-Star to do so when he led off the seventh with a hit to right field, followed by Báez’s eighth-inning groundout that brought in Detroit’s ninth run.
“They managed to get to our bullpen today, but those guys have demonstrated resilience throughout the entire season,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson commented. “There’s no better setting to bounce back than at home on Friday.”
Troy Melton, Detroit’s Game 1 starter, earned the win by pitching three scoreless innings in relief.
The initial 4½ innings seemed to foretell another Tigers setback.
Casey Mize conceded a single run while recording six strikeouts in the first three innings but expended 54 pitches to do so. This may have influenced Hinch’s decision to send Tyler Holton, a left-hander, to the mound for the fourth inning.
The decision proved unfruitful. Holton faced three batters before exiting with the bases loaded and no outs. Hinch then introduced Kyle Finnegan, a setup man, who induced Victor Robles to ground into a run-scoring double play before J.P. Crawford’s pop out.
However, the Mariners found success against Finnegan in the fifth inning. Randy Arozarena led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Cal Raleigh’s single, marking his seventh hit of the series. This increased the score to 3-0, intensifying the home crowd’s boos.
“I’ve been subjected to boos throughout my career, so I’m not particularly bothered by them,” Báez remarked. “It simply reflects the passion of our fans.”
Dillon Dingler’s RBI double put the Tigers on the scoreboard with one out in the fifth inning, representing the first run Detroit had scored against Mariners starter Bryce Miller in 23⅓ innings.
Speier entered the game, but Jahmai Jones lined his first pitch down the left-field line for a pinch-hit double, narrowing the gap to 3-2 before Báez equalized the score with a base hit.
