Rapid Reaction: Tigers Kick Miller, Maul Mariner Bullpen; M’s Forced to Game 5 against Skubal
DETROIT, Mich. — For the second time in a week, the Seattle Mariners have to save their season against the best pitcher in the American League. This time, it will be a true elimination game, a winner-take-all Game 5 in T-Mobile Park.
It seemed to go decently well for Seattle in the first few innings on Wednesday afternoon, but the wheels fell off the bus hard once the bottom of the fifth rolled around. Every pitcher Detroit faced up until Luke Jackson’s mop-up duty saw hard hit balls fall in for a conga line of Tigers production, while Seattle’s inability to put the game away early proved key to Detroit’s ability to take control of the game.
Josh Naylor steals Tigers’ signs … or does he?
Though all life drained out of the visiting dugout by the ninth inning, there had been some vivacious displays early on in Wednesday’s action.
Much of Seattle’s lineup had come out in force in Game 3, but Josh Naylor didn’t quite join the party, going 0-5 on Tuesday and continuing a seeming cold streak that had lasted for the entire ALDS. His at-bats, however, had been much better in Game 3, portending a breakout with the bat that indeed came forth on Wednesday, as he went 3-4 with two runs scored.
But it wasn’t just what he did with the bat that drew eyes early that afternoon. After a second-inning double, Naylor began waving his arms before each of Tigers starter Casey Mize’s pitches—as if to tell Dominic Canzone what pitch was coming. Indeed, Canzone cracked a first-pitch splitter through the right-side hole for a single. Kerry Carpenter, playing towards right center to prevent a double from the line drive-heavy Canzone, was unable to get to it in time to prevent Naylor from scoring Seattle’s first run.
Naylor reached again in the fourth with a grounder that kicked off two gloves and, once again, he got to second, this time on a single from Eugenio Suárez. Once more, he started waving his arms wildly before each pitch. Reliever Tyler Holton took an 0-2 lead against pinch-hitter Mitch Garver, but Naylor, it seemed, got in his head.
The burning question in Holton’s head was whether Naylor actually had the signs or not. His arm movements at second differed from pitch to pitch, sure, but Holton likely had no idea what the indicator sign was. What was certain was that Holton had completely fallen under Naylor’s spell, becoming unable to focus on Garver as he confusedly glanced back towards second on each pitch.
Mind games are perhaps the most important part of baseball that cannot be found on a scoresheet. Gaylord Perry, a legendary journeyman from the ‘60s through the ‘80s, was infamous for illegally doctoring the baseball. Countless hitters fell victim to breaking balls with Vaseline-aided drop over Perry’s 22-year career—but more than half of Perry’s game was making the hitters think the ball was doctored even when it wasn’t. Stealing signs at second isn’t against the rules like Perry’s spitballs were, but the same concepts of mental trickery applied to Naylor’s signaling on the bases.
Garver drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out.
Detroit keeps the game close as the Mariners prove unable to capitalize on their early opportunities.
That, however, was something of an inflection point in the game. Although Garver did his own job well enough, his entrance in the fourth inning took Dominic Canzone out of the game entirely and resulted in his later replacement by the far less effective Luke Raley. Víctor Robles, the next man up, grounded into a run-scoring double play, and the Mariner lead extended to just two runs.
Another prospective rally began in the top of the fifth, as Randy Arozarena smacked a leadoff double and Cal Raleigh knocked him in with a single, but Detroit once again put a lid on the damage. Although the M’s had a 3-0 lead going into the final half of the game, they had failed to shut the door behind them—and that may have cost them their season.
Bryce Miller stays in the game about one batter too long as the Tigers roar back in the bottom of the fifth.
Going into Game 4, Mariners starter Bryce Miller was something of a wildcard. Having never fully found his groove after mid-season injury, his performance on the mound in 2025 was much reduced from what seemed like a breakout 2024. His 2.94 ERA, 3.58 FIP, and 0.984 WHIP in 2024 worsened substantially to a 5.68 ERA, 5.17 FIP, and 1.406 WHIP during the 2025 regular season, and as such, he was initially slated as someone to come out of the bullpen in the playoffs.
Seattle ace Bryan Woo, however, suffered some pectoral inflammation during his Sept. 19 start in Houston, and with an incomplete recovery for the ALCS, it was Miller on the bump for Game 4. Although he had struggled all year, his history of dominance against the Tigers—with 15 strikeouts, no earned runs, and just one walk in 19 career innings against them—suggested he might bring his A-game on Wednesday.
Miller oscillated between sharpness and shakiness over the first four innings. His velocity took a noticeable jump from his regular season average, with almost one and a half miles an hour added to his four-seamer and nearly two extra miles per hour on his slider, notching a couple of strikeouts during the game. But the Tigers were getting some hard contact in the first few innings, kept from any big innings by some solid defense and bad placement luck.
The bottom of the fifth began with another well-hit ball for the Tigers, but this time, it found the outfield grass. Miller got one out on a force play at second, though with no opportunity for a double-up at first, the runner remained on. Dillon Dingler whacked a ball into the gap for what would have been a single had Arozarena had more familiarity with the ballpark, but the Mariner left fielder misjudged the ball and it rolled into the gap for a run-scoring double. Miller’s day was over with one run in and another runner charged on his tab, but he still left with a two-run lead.
Detroit clicks against the Mariner bullpen, turning elimination into a blowout for A. J. Hinch’s 1000th career win.
Mariners manager Dan Wilson went to the reliever who had delivered in the first two games of the series: Gabe Speier. The southpaw had worked a strong inning in Game 1 and shut down one of Detroit’s best threats in Game 2, but in Game 4, Detroit flipped the script. Tigers manager A. J. Hinch pinch-hit the right-handed Jahmai Jones for the lefty Parker Meadows and immediately saw fruit from his substitution, a double down the left field line. Speier got ahead of Javier Báez 1-2, but after spiking a slider, he tried to sneak a fastball over the plate past the infamous free-swinger—one that ended up driven through the middle for a game-tying single.
Speier got through the fifth and came out to face Riley Greene in the sixth, Wilson trusting him to get through another left-handed bat. But once again, he left his stuff way out over the plate, this time a slider down the pipe. To say Greene knocked the cover off the baseball is an understatement; the unlucky baseball flew 454 feet as it landed halfway up the stands in right center field, and the Tigers had a lead.
A not insurmountable one, sure, but a lead and the momentum were all in Detroit’s favor. Eduard Bazardo came on and gave up a double and a single for Detroit’s fifth run, but he seemed to finally stop the avalanche with a quick pickoff move to first.
Wenceel Pérez golfed a double down the right field line, however, and the pressure was back on. Before anyone could say another word, Báez joined the parade of Tigers who saw a grooved slider down the middle, and just like Greene before him, he sent it to kingdom come. Detroit’s 7-3 lead grew to 9-3 by the end of the game, with Luke Jackson the only Mariner reliever without an earned run. The offense died down completely during those innings as the M’s seemingly rolled over once the lead was dropped.
The scale of Detroit’s beatdown is something that should give the Mariners a whole lot of worry going into Game 5. Although the Mariners have four high-end relievers in their bullpen, they each have remarkably similar pitching styles: an above average but not elite fastball mixed with a slider. Some of these sliders, like those of Matt Brash or Andrés Muñoz, are good enough to make up for familiarity—but it seemed that when the Tigers figured out Speier, they figured out Bazardo, too. Both relievers’ middle-middle mistakes certainly didn’t help matters, but they had been able to challenge Detroit in earlier contests without trouble.
Skubal vs. Seattle in Game 5
Yet again in the 2025 season, the Seattle Mariners have pushed themselves to the brink of catastrophe. This time, however, it is absolute. There is no coming back from a defeat in Game 5; they will win or they will go home. Tigers ace Tarik Skubal will pitch on Friday in the deciding contest, giving the M’s another near-insurmountable task in their own stadium. Seattle’s pitcher, meanwhile, has not been announced, as Dan Wilson is either keeping his cards close to his chest or is still deciding on a game plan. Seattle, however, will need to have a short memory as they regale their home fans for what could be the final time in 2025.
