Seattle outlasted Detroit in the longest winner-take-all game in ALDS history, a 15-inning marathon that ended with Jorge Polanco delivering a bases-loaded single to plate J.P. Crawford and push the Mariners toward the ALCS in Toronto. The night was a statistical fever dream: 37 strikeouts between the teams, Tarik Skubal fanning 13 in nine innings with a 101 mph finish, and a bullpen-heavy, all-hands-on-deck approach that defined a dramatic, grind-it-out finale.

Two late Seattle rallies were squandered in extra innings before Seattle finally broke through in the 15th, Leo Rivas adding a birthday RBI to help force the decisive moment. Detroit’s 2-3-4 hitters went 0-for-18, and the game left a memory of back-and-forth chess moves, relief appearances by starters-turned-pitchers, and a last-ditch, historic strikeout-and-slide finish that will echo into the ALCS.

Detroit erased a 3-0 deficit to stun Seattle 9-3 in ALDS Game 4, forcing a decisive Game 5 in Seattle. Báez threaded the tying single in the fifth and then crushed a two-run homer in the sixth, while Greene launched a towering go-ahead shot of 450+ feet in that same frame as the offense finally clicked. The surge flipped the series narrative after a sluggish start, and the Tigers bullpen shut the door with Melton riding three scoreless innings on three days’ rest and Vest closing out the ninth.

Spencer Torkelson, Jahmai Jones and Zach McKinstry contributed multi-hit nights, and Gleyber Torres joined the party with a late RBI as Detroit rode a rare offensive outburst. Tarik Skubal is lined up to start Game 5, giving Detroit a proven ace to lean on as they chase the ALCS against Toronto, while Hinch emphasized the collective effort that carried them from the brink of elimination to playoff relevance.