For baseball fans, October is always a wild ride, and Wednesday night in Detroit was proof that postseason magic is alive and well. The Detroit Tigers, teetering on the brink after a late-season swoon and a sluggish start to their American League Division Series (ALDS) against the Seattle Mariners, roared back with a 9-3 victory in Game 4. That win not only evened the series at two games apiece but also set up a winner-take-all Game 5 in Seattle, with a trip to the ALCS hanging in the balance.
The Tigers’ comeback was nothing short of electrifying. Down 3-0 after four innings, they looked like a team on the verge of elimination. The home crowd at Comerica Park was quiet, perhaps bracing for a bitter end to a season that had once promised so much. But in the fifth, the Tigers found their spark. Dillon Dingler got things rolling with an RBI double, and by the end of the inning, Detroit had knotted the score at three apiece. The comeback from a three-run deficit tied the largest postseason rally in franchise history, a mark first set in the 1909 World Series—a reminder that Tigers baseball has always had a flair for the dramatic.
Javier Báez was the linchpin of Detroit’s offensive explosion. The veteran shortstop, who had struggled through his first three seasons with the Tigers, was everywhere in Game 4. Báez homered, stole a base, and drove in four runs, capping off a sixth inning that saw Detroit seize control of the game. His two-run blast to left field, coming just after Riley Greene’s go-ahead solo shot, sent the crowd into a frenzy and put the Tigers up 7-3. Báez is now hitting .346 in the postseason, leading the team with nine hits and reminding everyone why he was such a pivotal figure in the Cubs’ 2016 World Series run.
"I'm proud of our guys because today's game was symbolic of how we roll, you know?" Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said after the win. "It's a lot of different guys doing something positive, multiple guys." That sentiment was echoed by Báez, who added, "We knew we had a lot of baseball left, a lot of innings left to play. We believe, and we're never out of it until that last out is made."
Riley Greene, meanwhile, made his own mark on Tigers postseason lore. The young outfielder belted his first career playoff home run to break the 3-3 tie in the sixth, igniting a four-run rally that blew the game open. Gleyber Torres also went deep for Detroit, providing a jolt to a lineup that had managed just two home runs in its previous six postseason games. "I think hitting is contagious and not hitting is also kind of contagious, too," first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. "It's a crazy game that we decided to play, but that's why I love it so much."
The Tigers’ pitching staff, maligned for inconsistency in recent weeks, stepped up when it mattered most. Starter Casey Mize struck out six over three innings before yielding to the bullpen. The Mariners threatened in the fourth, loading the bases with nobody out after Mize departed. But relievers Tyler Holton and Kyle Finnegan limited the damage to just one run, keeping Detroit within striking distance and setting the stage for the offense’s heroics.
On the other side, Seattle’s Bryce Miller cruised through four innings before the Tigers finally cracked the code. The Mariners’ bullpen couldn’t contain Detroit’s momentum, and the offense, so potent earlier in the series, was stymied by the Tigers’ relievers the rest of the way. As the final outs ticked away, the home crowd found its voice again, sensing that this Tigers team wasn’t ready for its story to end.
Báez’s resurgence has been a defining storyline for Detroit this October. After hitting just .221 over his first three seasons with the Tigers, he’s found his form at the perfect time. "World Series champion all those years ago," Torres said of Báez. "He knows how to play in those situations. I'm not surprised but just really happy. Everything he does for the team is really special."
With the series now deadlocked, all eyes turn to Seattle for the decisive Game 5. The Tigers have every reason to feel confident: they’ll send reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to the mound. Skubal has been nearly unhittable this postseason, posting a 1.84 ERA with 23 strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings in two starts. "This is what competition is all about," Skubal said. "This is why you play the game, for Game 5s. I think that's going to bring out the best in everyone involved. That's why this game is so beautiful."
But the Tigers know that nothing is guaranteed. "We're confident," Torres said. "We know who is pitching that last game for us. But we can't put all the effort on him." After all, it’s been the collective effort—from Báez’s clutch hitting to the bullpen’s shutdown performance—that has propelled Detroit this far.
Elsewhere in the playoffs, the Toronto Blue Jays punched their ticket to the ALCS with a 5-2 victory over the New York Yankees, ending the Yankees’ season and setting up a matchup with either the Tigers or Mariners. In the National League, the Chicago Cubs kept their hopes alive by fending off the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in Game 3 of their NLDS series, while the Philadelphia Phillies bounced back to take Game 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But the spotlight now shines brightest on the Tigers and Mariners. Friday’s Game 5, scheduled for 4:40 p.m. ET in Seattle, promises to be a classic. Both teams have battled adversity and defied expectations, and now just one will emerge with a shot at the pennant. With Tarik Skubal ready to take the ball and a rejuvenated lineup behind him, Detroit is poised for a showdown that could define their season. The Tigers, once on the brink, are now just nine innings away from the ALCS—and they’re not backing down.
