SEATTLE — SEATTLE (AP) — Jorge Polanco hit a game-ending single within the fifteenth inning, and the Seattle Mariners superior to the AL Championship Collection by outlasting the Detroit Tigers for a 3-2 victory Friday evening within the longest winner-take-all postseason sport in baseball historical past.

With one out and the bases loaded, Polanco drove in J.P. Crawford with a liner to proper on a full-count changeup from Tommy Kahnle. Crawford held his arms within the air as he touched dwelling plate whereas the Mariners poured out of the dugout to have fun in entrance of a frenzied crowd of 47,025.

Crawford hit a leadoff single, Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch and Julio Rodríguez was deliberately walked earlier than Polanco’s huge swing on the 472nd pitch of an epic Recreation 5 that clocked in at 4 hours, 58 minutes.

It was the third one-run sport — all with a 3-2 rating — in a tightly contested AL Division Collection.

“I do know we performed an extended sport, however this staff by no means gave up,” Polanco mentioned. “I do know there may be numerous emotion, however we’re at all times attempting to maintain it easy. I’m simply attempting to go on the market and play and attempting to get the win.”

The Mariners left 12 runners on base and nonetheless managed to advance to the ALCS for the primary time since 2001. Subsequent up is a matchup with the AL East champion Blue Jays, starting on Sunday evening at Toronto.

“Simply an unbelievable ballgame from high to backside,” Mariners supervisor Dan Wilson mentioned.

Luis Castillo pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win in his first main league reduction look. Logan Gilbert, one other member of Seattle’s rotation, labored two scoreless innings in his first reduction outing since his faculty days at Stetson College in 2017.

“It was such a troublesome evening,” Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh mentioned. “Everybody put their different stuff facet and did every thing for the staff, together with Logan and Luis.”

Detroit wasted a stellar efficiency by Tarik Skubal, who struck out 13 whereas pitching six innings of one-run ball. The Tigers went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring place and left 10 on base.

“We had an unbelievable sport right this moment that — sadly, someone needed to lose, and that someone was us, and it hurts,” supervisor A.J. Hinch mentioned.

Kerry Carpenter put Detroit in entrance when he hit a two-run homer off Gabe Speier within the sixth inning. Carpenter had 4 hits and walked twice, turning into the primary participant to achieve 5 instances and hit a house run in a winner-take-all postseason sport since Babe Ruth in 1926, in line with STATS.

The Mariners tied it at 2 on Leo Rivas’ pinch-hit single off Tyler Holton within the seventh. Rivas celebrated his twenty eighth birthday along with his first postseason hit.

“He was as much as the duty tonight,” Wilson mentioned. “It was an enormous hit.”

The Mariners had a runner on second with no outs within the tenth, twelfth and thirteenth inning — and got here up empty every time. Arozarena and Eugenio Suárez each grounded right into a double play in further innings.

The Tigers threatened within the twelfth, placing runners on second and third with one out. Zach McKinstry was reduce down at dwelling when he tried to attain on Javier Báez’s grounder to 3rd. After Carpenter was walked deliberately, Gleyber Torres flied out to proper.

Dillon Dingler hit a one-out double for Detroit within the 14th, however he was stranded there when Parker Meadows struck out wanting in opposition to Eduard Bazardo and Castillo retired Báez on a popup to first.

“Guys simply stored battling. There have been alternatives on each side after the ninth inning,” Hinch mentioned.

Seattle dropped 4 of its six video games in opposition to Toronto this season. The Mariners gained two of three in an April sequence in Toronto, however they have been swept by the Blue Jays at dwelling from Might 11th of September.

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