DETROIT (AP) — The Seattle Mariners are on the brink of a spot in the AL Championship Series for the first time in 24 years.
Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer, Eugenio Suarez and J.P. Crawford had solo shots, and Seattle beat the Detroit Tigers 8-4 on Tuesday night to take a 2-1 lead in the AL Division Series.
The Mariners are now within a win of their first AL Championship Series appearance since 2001. Their next opportunity to advance comes Wednesday afternoon in Game 4 at Comerica Park. If necessary, a decisive Game 5 will be held on Friday back in Seattle.
“The Seattle Mariners deserve where we’re at right now,” Suarez said.
Despite the loss, Detroit manager A.J. Hinch urged not to count his team out. After a historic collapse in the regular season, the Tigers showed resilience by eliminating Cleveland in the AL Wild Card series and winning Game 1 against Seattle.
“We’ve had to play more and more back-against-the-wall-type games,” Hinch said. “I know our guys are going to be ready.”
Seattle’s Logan Gilbert pitched six strong innings, giving up one run on four hits while striking out seven and walking none.
“Can’t say enough about what Logan did,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Just an incredible outing. He had everything going.”
Raleigh, who led the majors with 60 home runs during the regular season, launched a 391-foot two-run homer to left-center in the ninth inning to extend Seattle’s lead to 8-1.
The offensively challenged Tigers were limited to four hits and one run through eight innings, before generating some offense in the ninth against Mariners reliever Caleb Ferguson. Ferguson allowed three runs on three hits and a walk without recording an out.
Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run double, followed by an RBI single from Andy Ibanez. All-Star closer Andres Munoz then entered the game with one on base and no outs, and ended Detroit’s comeback hopes with a flyout and a game-ending double play.
Detroit starter Jack Flaherty struggled, lasting just 3 1/3 innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks.
Seattle jumped ahead with two runs in the third inning after loading the bases with three hits and a walk. Victor Robles led off with a double and scored on an error credited to left fielder Riley Greene for an errant throw that could have been fielded by catcher Dillon Dingler.
“A little bit of a breakdown all the way around,” Hinch said.
Randy Arozarena’s RBI single put the Mariners up 2-0 in the third. Suarez followed with a 422-foot homer to left field in the fourth to make it 3-0. Raleigh added a two-out RBI single in the same inning, giving Seattle a four-run cushion.
The Tigers had hoped that their first home game in more than two weeks would improve their offensive performance, but they lost an eighth straight game at Comerica Park.
Detroit finally scored in the fifth inning on a fielder’s choice by Kerry Carpenter. A throw from J.P. Crawford at second base pulled first baseman Josh Naylor off the bag, allowing Dillon Dingler to score after not securing the ball.
Crawford’s solo homer in the sixth restored Seattle’s four-run lead.
In the eighth inning, Detroit allowed a second unearned run after Carpenter dropped a fly ball by Victor Robles in right field. This error allowed Luke Raley to advance to third and later score on Crawford’s sacrifice fly.
Looking ahead, Detroit RHP Casey Mize and Seattle RHP Bryce Miller are expected to start Game 4 on Wednesday.
___
Follow Larry Lage on X
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
https://wgntv.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-raleigh-suarez-crawford-homer-and-mariners-top-tigers-8-4-for-a-2-1-lead-in-the-al-division-series/
