By DOUG MILLER Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — Julio Rodríguez came through in a big moment for the Seattle Mariners.
Rodríguez hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth inning and the Mariners beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 in Game 2 of their AL Division Series on Sunday to even the series.
With the game knotted at 2-2 and one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, AL MVP candidate Cal Raleigh doubled with one out. Shortly after, Rodríguez doubled home Raleigh to put the Mariners in front for good.
“In games like this, I feel like any situation is clutch,” said Rodríguez, who has recorded an extra-base hit in a franchise-record five consecutive postseason games and has six extra-base hits in his first seven career playoff games.
“I feel like the biggest pride I take is helping the team win. In any situation that I can, I feel like that’s what makes me feel good. And listen, if they want to say that I’m clutch, too, okay. Cool. So be it.”
Closer Andrès Muñoz retired the Tigers in order for the save one night after throwing two innings in a 3-2 loss in 11 innings.
Jorge Polanco homered twice for Seattle.
After going scoreless against Seattle starter Luis Castillo and three Mariners relievers, the Tigers tied the game against Matt Brash in the top of the eighth.
Gleyber Torres worked a leadoff walk, and Riley Greene reached on a fielder’s choice that was misfielded by Seattle first baseman Josh Naylor for an error. Spencer Torkelson followed up with a double into the right-field corner to tie the score at 2-2.
Seattle regained the lead in the bottom of the inning.
Raleigh, who led the majors in home runs this season with 60, lined Kyle Finnegan’s pitch into the right-field corner and slid headfirst into second base. Rodríguez followed with a double of his own, sending the sellout crowd of 47,431 at T-Mobile Park into a frenzy.
“I give our guys a ton of credit,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Number one, this was a bounce-back game for us, and they did just that. And to lose the lead late like that and to come right back and score a run was huge. I thought those at-bats by Julio and Cal were tremendous and just a huge momentum shift back to our dugout.”
Polanco got the Mariners on the board with a one-out solo homer over the wall in left center field in the bottom of the fourth inning. He added another one off reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal with two outs in the sixth.
Polanco became the fourth Mariners player with a multi-homer game in the postseason, joining Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner, who all accomplished the feat in 1995.
“I just had a good approach,” said Polanco, who added a single in the eighth and finished 3 for 4. “I stayed through the middle so I could recognize the secondary stuff. Like I said, just put a good swing on it.”
Skubal, who struck out 14 batters to set the AL record for most strikeouts in a postseason game by a left-handed starter while beating Cleveland in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, fanned nine across seven innings on Sunday. He limited the Mariners to five hits and walked one.
“His stuff was good,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said of Skubal. “Polanco … hits the homer and hit another homer. You know, you don’t see the same guy get good swings against Tarik very often.
“But all in all, he did a tremendous job of keeping us in the game and keeping it right where it was.”
Castillo, meanwhile, maneuvered through 4 2/3 scoreless innings. In the fifth, he surrendered his first hit of the game, a two-out single by Gleyber Torres that put runners on the corners. But left-hander Gabe Speier was summoned to face Game 1 hero Kerry Carpenter and struck him out to end the inning.
Castillo now has a 1.49 career postseason ERA, having given up four earned runs and 18 hits in 24 1/3 innings while striking out 22 and walking five.
“Just a great ballgame from Rock,” Wilson said of Castillo. “And at a time when we really needed it. It seems like he’s done that all along.
“And down the stretch we had some big wins where he kind of stepped up, and tonight was another opportunity for him, and he did exactly what we needed him to do.”
Up next
RHP Logan Gilbert starts for Seattle in Game 3 against Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty. Gilbert has one game of postseason experience, having lost Game 1 of the 2022 ALDS against the Astros in Houston. Flaherty is 5-3 with a 5.05 ERA in 11 postseason games.
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