Seattle Mariners starting pitchers vs Detroit Tigers without Bryan Woo
On “Days of Roar,” Ryan Divish — the Mariners beat writer for The Seattle Times — breaks down the starting rotation vs the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS.
Detroit Tigers fans booed Riley Greene.
And then they praised him.
Greene — a two-time All-Star who has struggled throughout the postseason — heard those jeers after grounding out to end the fourth inning, but in the sixth inning, the fans cheered as Greene launched a go-ahead home run.
The Tigers won, 9-3, in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Comerica Park, forcing Game 5 in the best-of-five series. Three players hit home runs: Greene, Javier Báez and Gleyber Torres.
To avoid elimination, the Tigers scored three runs in the fifth and four runs in the sixth, all while right-handed pitcher Troy Melton completed scoreless innings in the sixth, seventh and eighth.
The ALDS between the Tigers (2-2) and Mariners (2-2) will be decided in Game 5, which is scheduled for Friday (4:40 p.m., FS1) at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Left-hander Tarik Skubal is the Game 5 starter for the Tigers.
The winner of the ALDS advances to the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays or New York Yankees, which begins Sunday.
In Game 4, the Tigers and Mariners were tied, 3-3, in the sixth inning before Greene broke the tie. He hit a middle-down slider from left-handed reliever Gabe Speier for a solo home run, giving the Tigers a 4-3 advantage.
Greene pulled the ball 454 feet with a 111.9 mph exit velocity.
The Tigers stayed on the gas pedal.
The Mariners replaced Speier with right-handed reliever Eduard Bazardo in the sixth, but the pitching change didn’t faze the suddenly red-hot Tigers offense.
For a 5-3 lead, Spencer Torkelson hit a double and scored on Zach McKinstry’s RBI single. For a 7-3 lead, Báez demolished Bazardo’s hanging slider for a two-run home run.
It didn’t stop there.
In the seventh, Torres boosted the Tigers’ lead to 8-3 with a solo home run off right-handed reliever Carlos Vargas. He didn’t hit the ball extremely hard, but he pushed a middle-up sinker far enough down the right-field line and over the wall. In the eighth, Báez drove in a run with a groundout for a 9-3 lead.
The Tigers called upon right-handed reliever Will Vest to protect a six-run lead in the ninth inning.
He finished the job with three outs in a row.
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Offense comes alive
The Tigers were lifeless in the first four innings against Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller. At the time, the Mariners had what felt like a commanding 3-0 lead.
The bats finally came alive in the fifth inning.
It all started with Torkelson’s leadoff single, driving Miller’s splitter on the bottom rail of the strike zone into center field to jumpstart the Tigers.
Three consecutive hits erased the Mariners’ lead with one out in the fifth: Dillon Dingler drilled an RBI double to make it 3-1; pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones ripped an RBI double to make it 3-2; Báez delivered an RBI single to make it 3-3.
Dingler collected his hit against Miller, while Jones and Báez produced their hits against Speier. For Jones, he ambushed Speier’s first-pitch fastball.
The three-run fifth inning shifted the momentum.
It’s why the Tigers won.
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Casey Mize gets quick hook
Manager A.J. Hinch always gives pitchers a fist bump or a handshake in the dugout after every inning. A first bump means keep pitching, and a handshake means stop pitching.
Right-hander Casey Mize didn’t receive either upon entering the dugout after the third inning of a must-win game. Instead, Hinch summoned Mize into the tunnel.
Mize didn’t return to the mound.
He allowed one run on two hits and two walks with six strikeouts across three innings, throwing 54 pitches. The Mariners scored the lone run on Dominic Canzone’s RBI single for a 1-0 lead with two outs in the second inning, following Josh Naylor’s double.
By removing Mize, Hinch opened the door to the bullpen despite still needing 18 outs.
The decision backfired at first, then paid off later.
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Left-handed reliever Tyler Holton, who replaced Mize, failed to record an out against the first three batters in the fourth inning: Naylor (single), Eugenio Suárez (single) and Mitch Garver (walk). Loading the bases forced the Tigers to turn to their best bullpen arm — right-handed reliever Kyle Finnegan.
Finnegan limited the damage.
Victor Robles grounded into a double play, which allowed a run to score for a 2-0 lead, but J.P. Crawford popped out to strand a runner on third base.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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