The Seattle Mariners are heading north for the ALCS after Jorge Polanco played walk-hero in the 15th inning in Game 5 of the ALDS.
The Mariners outlasted the Detroit Tigers on Friday night in a 3-2 victory after chasing Tarik Skubal after six dominant innings and forcing extras with a late run against the bullpen.
The win puts the Mariners into a Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, which will get underway at Rogers Centre on Sunday evening.
Seattle came away with the win in the 15th, when Polanco singled with the bases loaded to bring home the winning run.
It marked the fourth time this season that Seattle has won after facing Skubal, who was excellent yet again.
Skubal’s 13 strikeouts set a record for most punchouts in a winner-take-all game in post-season history. He also broke a playoff record with seven consecutive Ks between the second and fourth innings.
On the other side, George Kirby was solid for the Mariners over five innings of work, but he was lifted in favour of lefty reliever Gabe Speier after allowing a leadoff double to begin the sixth. Speier was brought in for the favourable left-on-left matchup against Kerry Carpenter, but it didn’t matter.
Carpenter lifted a 1-0 fastball 411 feet into the bleachers in right-centre field for a 2-1 lead.
The Mariners, however, jumped on Detroit’s relievers as soon as Skubal exited, as pinch-hitter and birthday boy Leo Rivas evened the score with an RBI single in the seventh, setting up the late-game dramatics.
It will be Seattle’s first trip to the ALCS since 2001.
More to come.
