By
Seattle Times staff reporter
Three instant impressions after the Mariners fall 3-2 to the Tigers in 11 innings in Game 1 of the American League Division Series:
This is a brutal result
Everything about this outcome is terrible for the Mariners. They lost a game they had to win considering Tarik Skubal is throwing Game 2 on Sunday. They burned through their bullpen using six relievers, including Andrés Muñoz pitching two innings for only the second time in his career and first since 2019 when he was with San Diego. And the M’s got nothing from the bottom half of their lineup as batters Nos. 5 thru 9 combined to go 0 for 20.
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alds: Tigers 1, mariners 0
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Yes, they’ve beaten Skubal twice this season, but it’s a big ask to figure out the presumptive AL Cy Young Award winner for a third time and avoid going back to Detroit down 0-2. There’s a lot riding on Luis Castillo’s shoulders on Sunday.
Why pitch to Kerry Carpenter in the fifth?
Considering Kerry Carpenter’s career propensity to demolish Mariners pitching, and in particular George Kirby, the first big test of Dan Wilson’s decision making as a manager in the postseason seemed to backfire. First base was open. There was no need to go after Carpenter. At the very least, the M’s should have had Gabe Speier warming in the bullpen sooner than he did so he could have at least been an option.
Yes, Kirby thought he got Carpenter looking at strike three, but it was correctly called a ball by home plate umpire Alex Tosi and Carpenter made him pay on the next pitch.
Whatever the reason, Carpenter loves hitting against the Mariners and specifically Kirby, now with five career hits off the righty, all of them home runs.
Outside of that sequence to Carpenter, the Mariners got what they needed from Kirby getting through five innings. He also went heavier with his slider (31%) and sinker (46%) than he had on average during the regular season. But like his start in Detroit back in July, his outing was nearly ruined by an untimely fifth inning home run. It was Riley Greene in July. It was Carpenter in October. Â
Speier’s calming influence
Because of the key lefties in Detroit’s lineup, Gabe Speier was going to end up with a big role in the series. He showed his value in the span of four batters in the seventh and eighth innings after things had gotten a little shaky in the sixth. Speier struck out Parker Meadows and Gleyber Torres, and got a ground out from Carpenter on just 12 pitches to get through the seventh inning. He came back to start the eighth and retired Riley Greene on a pop out. The standing ovation as he left the mound was well deserved.
The entire bullpen was tremendous until Carlos Vargas’ leadoff walk and wild pitch in the 11th set the stage for Zack McKinstry’s RBI single. McKinstry’s hit was the first for the Tigers since the fifth inning.
Tim Booth: Tim Booth is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, where he covers the Kraken and the ongoing story surrounding possible NBA expansion and helps with coverage of the Seahawks and Mariners.