The Mariners are, at long last, going to the ALCS. Friday night at T-Mobile Park, the Mariners outlasted the Tigers in an instant classic, winning Game 5 of the ALDS on Jorge Polanco’s 15th inning walk-off single. The 15-inning game was the longest winner-take-all game in MLB playoff history.
Tarik Skubal’s brilliant start feels like it was a lifetime ago. He allowed one run in six innings, and struck out 13. It is a new record for strikeouts in a win-or-go-home game. Skubal also struck out eight in a row at one point. That’s a new postseason record. He was out of this world good.
George Kirby, Seattle’s starter, threw five innings on 66 pitches. He gave up a leadoff double in the sixth and that was it. His night was over. Lefty Gabe Speier came in to face lefty Kerry Carpenter, and Carpenter took him deep for a two-run homer. That gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
In the seventh inning, the Mariners rallied to the tie the game when pinch-hitter Leo Rivas — he pinch-hit for pinch-hitter Dominic Canzone — lined an RBI single to left on his first swing of the postseason. That sent Game 5 into extra innings.
Seattle is going to the ALCS for the first time since their historic 116-win season in 2001. They will face the Blue Jays. The ALCS begins Sunday in Toronto.