Detroit Tigers grab another game in MLB playoffs after 'biggest win of the year'

The Detroit Tigers were on their way out.

They trailed the Seattle Mariners by three runs entering the bottom of the fifth inning of a must-win Game 4 of the ALDS on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Comerica Park — just 15 outs away from being eliminated from the 2025 MLB playoffs.

It was so frustrating the fans were booing.

“We really didn’t think anything of it,” said Riley Greene, a frequent target of criticism during his late-season slump. “We were focused on ourselves, and we knew we had a lot of baseball left. We believe we’re never out of it until that last out is made.”

By the end, the Tigers and their fans were celebrating together after a 9-3 win over the Mariners in Game 4 of the ALDS. With the win, the Tigers avoided elimination and forced a winner-take-all showdown in the best-of-five ALDS.

It was the Tigers’ first win at Comerica Park since Sept. 6.

Game 5 is set for T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Friday (8:08 p.m., Fox).

“Many parts of this game and many parts of our roster contributed to the biggest win of the year,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I’m proud of our guys because today’s game was symbolic of how we roll, you know? It’s a lot of different guys doing something positive.”

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From left, Detroit Tigers left fielder Riley Greene (31), outfielder Wenceel Pérez (46) and right fielder Kerry Carpenter (30) celebrate 9-3 win over Mariners at Game 4 of ALDS at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025.

There were positive contributors everywhere.

All of it happened after the first three innings of Game 4.

“This is an emotional game for everybody, fans included, and everybody is living on every pitch,” Hinch said. “In the dugout, you try not to ride that emotion because you know that 27 outs are going to be played, and you’ve got to keep fighting.”

Greene didn’t strike out in any of his four trips to the plate, launching the go-ahead solo home run more than 450 feet in the sixth inning. Javier Báez drove in four runs on two hits, including a game-tying single in the fifth and a two-run homer in the sixth. Jahmai Jones delivered a pinch-hit RBI double in the fifth. Spencer Torkelson collected both of his hits in the big innings — a single in the three-run fifth and a double in the four-run sixth. Zach McKinstry and Gleyber Torres added multi-hit performances, including Torres’ solo home run in the seventh.

Kyle Finnegan inherited the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth, escaping the jam with only one run scoring. Troy Melton shoved for three scoreless innings out of the bullpen in the sixth, seventh and eighth, pitching on three days rest after starting Game 1. Will Vest protected a six-run lead in the ninth, slamming the door with three outs in a row to end the game.

“We knew our season was on the line,” Hinch said. “This is not the first elimination game that we’ve played this postseason, and our guys stayed loose and stayed in the game and came up with some really big pitches and some big swings.”

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The Tigers entered Game 4 of the ALDS averaging only three runs in their first six postseason games (following the offense’s slump for nearly four weeks of the regular season). And then, in their seventh postseason game, a breakout occurred – nine runs, as many as they’d scored in the first three games of the ALDS combined.

For a few innings, it felt like the Tigers turned back the clock and rediscovered their pre-All-Star Game offense.

“Recent memory can lead you to think that this is how it’s been all season, and it hasn’t been,” Hinch said. “We’ve been a good offensive club for the large majority of the season, but … it tricks you into believe that we’re not an offensive club, and we really are.”

The catalysts in Game 4 were Báez and Greene.

Báez tied the game, 3-3, when he ripped a single off left-handed reliever Gabe Speier in the fifth inning, connecting with a middle-away fastball with a runner on second base for the game-tying single.

“I’m just trying to be patient at the plate,” Báez said of his tying single. “I kept my plan to keep it simple. I tried to see the ball through the zone. He challenged me with a fastball, and I was ready for it.”

Báez extended the Tigers’ lead to 7-3 with a two-run home run off right-handed reliever Eduard Bazardo in the sixth inning, as Bazardo hung a slider with a runner on second base and two outs.

It marked his first postseason homer since 2017.

“When everything clicks together — the pitching and hitting and everything we do as a team — we can be really dangerous,” Báez said. “I’m trying to do anything for the team.”

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Between Báez’s big hits, Greene hit Speier’s hanging slider for a go-ahead home run in the sixth — his third hit in 16 plate appearances during the ALDS. Greene crushed the ball 454 feet to right-center with a 111.9 mph exit velocity.

It was Greene’s first homer in 14 playoff games.

“I haven’t hit a ball like that in a while,” Greene said. “It feels pretty good, and I want to do it more often.”

Just like that, the Tigers earned another game. They’re going to need to do so again against the Mariners in Game 5 of the ALDS. Friday’s winner advances to the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays, with the best-of-seven series beginning Sunday in Canada.

In Seattle, it will be left-hander Tarik Skubal – the 2024 AL Cy Young winner and 2025 favorite – starting for the Tigers, but the Tigers have lost four of his last five starts, primarily because of poor performances from the offense.

The ace can lead, but the offense needs to follow.

“Sitting in my chair, one of the easiest things to do is hand the ball to the best pitcher in the world,” Hinch said. “We win together, we lose together, but he leads us. As we get on this plane to go across the country, we’ve got a lot of optimism heading that way because of the presence of Tarik Skubal.”

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Inside Detroit Tigers’ ‘biggest win of the year’ in Game 4 of ALDS

Detroit Tigers grab another game in MLB playoffs after ‘biggest win of the year’

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