SPORTS TODAY
The Seattle Mariners won an instant classic, and the Detroit Tigers lost a heartbreaker Friday night at T-Mobile Park. The Mariners, thanks to Jorge Polanco’s 15th-inning walk-off single, won Game 5 of the ALDS ( Sea 3, that 2) and advanced to the ALCS. They’ll take on the Toronto Blue Jays when that series begins Sunday. The Tigers have to make the long flight home.
Long before Polanco’s walk-off single, Tigers ace and reigning AL Cy Young winner Pull Skubal was brilliant, striking out 13 Mariners in six innings of one-run ball. The 13 strikeouts are the most ever in a winner-take-all game, and at one point Skubal struck out eight consecutive batters. That is also a postseason record.
“It’s incredible. He kick-started us in such a good direction. He missed a ton at-bats,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said about Skubal’s performance. “If you’re not a fan of the Tigers and you haven’t watched Tarik start after start after start, you’re going to see why he gets the love he does, because he’s incredible.”
Skubal threw 99 pitches, and, given the importance of the game and how well he was pitching, it seemed like he would remain in the game until the tank was on E. Instead, he was removed after 99 pitches, eight fewer than he threw in his 14-strikeout masterpiece against the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS. Did the Tigers leave some Skubal pitches on the table?
“Easy decision,” Hinch said about removing Skubal. “After the fifth, I checked in on him how he was doing physically and emotionally, and we both knew that he had one left. You know, he emptied his tank and obviously was emotional coming off the mound, and I think that signals exactly where we were in the game. He gave us everything he could.”
Removing Skubal backfired immediately. Righty Kylle finnegan took over in the seventh, allowed a walk and a single, then lefty Tyler Holton surrendered the game-tying single to pinch-hitter Leo Rivas. Rivas pinch-hit for pinch-hitter Dominic Song. There was a lot of “strategy” that inning. Seattle tied Game 5 as soon as Skubal was out of the game.
Skubal’s season high is the 107 pitches he threw in Game 1 against the Guardians in the ALDS. He’s thrown as many as 100 pitches only eight times in 68 starts the last two years, postseason included. Still, if there was ever a time to push Skubal beyond his usual limit, Game 5 was it. Instead, he came out after 99 pitches, and the bullpen blew the lead.
“He’s pitched on regular rest now three or four starts in a row. He empties his tank from pitch one,” Hinch said about Skubal. “It was an easy decision.”
Ultimately, Skubal’s early-ish exit is just a footnote in the Game 5 loss. Detroit’s bullpen did incredible work. Seven relievers, including Game 3 starter Jack Flahertyallowed just two runs in 8 ⅓ innings. The offense mustered only five hits in 10 innings — 10 innings! — against Seattle’s bullpen. Blame the offense, not Skubal’s possibly early exit.
