The Detroit Tigers kept their season alive on Wednesday, Oct. 8, scoring nine unanswered runs to win 9-3 at home in Game 4 of their American League Division Series with the Seattle Mariners. The Tigers’ bats and bullpen bailed out manager A.J. Hinch, who made careless pitching changes that could’ve punched their ticket for an early offseason, and Detroit hit three home runs across the sixth and seventh innings to blow the game open after tying the game 3-3 on an RBI single from Javier Báez.
Here are the winners and losers from Game 4.
Winner: Javier Báez
Tigers shortstop Javier Báez went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI in Game 4, answering the call in a do-or-die situation. He plated the tying run in the fifth inning, reaching out to poke a fastball on the outside edge into left field, then added insurance in the sixth with a two-run homer that helped put the Mariners underwater.
Báez wasn’t satisfied with that, however, tacking on another run in the eighth via a fielders’ choice and going 2-for-3 with runners in scoring position on the day. When Báez is locked in, there are few players able to spark an entire team like he can, and although he’s had an up-and-down career since his time as an MVP hopeful with the Cubs, his performance on Wednesday afternoon demonstrated exactly why he could be the piece the Tigers missed during last year’s playoff run.
Winner: Josh Naylor
Despite the losing effort, Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor broke out for his best game of the postseason so far, going 3-for-4 with two singles, two runs scored and a double. Although he only struck out once in the first three games of the series, Naylor entered Game 4 on an 0-for-13 skid, putting the ball in play without seeing any results.
With Games 1 and 2 each decided by one run, the Mariners having Naylor break out of his slump could prove critical heading into a winner-takes-all Game 5. The 28-year-old left-handed bat hit .295 with 20 home runs, 29 doubles, 48 walks and 92 RBI during the regular season, a key component of Seattle’s lineup.
Loser: A.J. Hinch
The Tigers scored nine unanswered runs to keep their season alive, but manager A.J. Hinch did his best to blow the game when he pulled starter Casey Mize from the game.
Mize, the Tigers’ No. 2 starter this season, allowed one run in three innings, striking out six batters. He wasn’t at his best, needing 54 pitches to complete his day and allowing four baserunners in that time, but Mize limited the damage and kept the Tigers in a position to win. Reliever Troy Holton, who filled in for the fourth, didn’t even record an out, loading the bases before Kyle Finnegan entered and saved the day with a double play ball.
Hinch’s overmanaging the bullpen gave Seattle an extended look at the Tigers’ relievers, some of whom will have faced the Mariners for the fourth time this series once Game 5 rolls around on Friday, Oct. 10. That familiarity is dangerous for a reliever with limited offerings, and Hinch’s decisions could blow the series yet.
Loser: Mariners’ Bullpen
The Tigers’ rang the Mariners bullpen up for nine earned runs in 3.2 innings of work, crushing two home runs off Eduard Bazardo in the sixth and another off Carlos Vargas in the seventh as the game spun out of control.
Seattle’s struggles began before that, as left-hander Gabe Speier took over for starter Bryce Miller with one on and one out in the fifth. The Tigers countered with righty pinch hitter Jahmai Jones, who clobbered Speier for an RBI double on the first pitch he saw, then allowed the game-tying single to Báez. Speier settled in after that, escaping the frame, but with a brand new ball game now tied at 3-3, the back end of the bullpen wasn’t able to keep the Mariners in striking distance.
