DETROIT — This is why the Mariners brought Eugenio Suarez home.
Seattle took the biggest swing of MLB’s July trade deadline for October moments like Tuesday’s — when their reacquired third baseman demolished Jack Flaherty’s middle-middle fastball 422 feet deep into the Detroit night.
Suarez admired his fourth-inning solo homer, acknowledged a rowdy Seattle dugout and rounded first base with his pointer fingers to the sky. He formed his signature “Geno Goggles” with both hands circled around his eyes, a nod to the Mariners relievers in the left field bullpen, before hoisting the trident in front of the Tigers faithful who wanted to see nothing less.
It was a silencer in Detroit, aside from the visiting Mariners fans basking in “Good Vibes Only.” Suarez’s home run extended an early lead, and the Mariners rode Logan Gilbert’s six fantastic innings to a pivotal Game 3 win over the Tigers in the American League Division Series, 8-4.
“These games, it’s a little bit from everybody,” Suarez told reporters at Comerica Park, where the 34-year-old made his MLB debut for the Tigers in 2014. “The first two games, it wasn’t for me. Cal and Julio did a really good job in the first two games.
“Obviously, you want to do something. You want to help your team. But it’s not about one player. Sometimes, you help the team as a defender, base runner, or make a good play.
“Today, I got an opportunity to help my team. That’s my thing. That’s what I thought every time. I (came) here not trying to be a superhero or take the moment. (I) play my game, have good at-bats, and see what baseball gives to me.”
Boos rained down from thousands among a packed Detroit crowd that toughed out a near-three-hour rain delay, as Tuesday’s first pitch moved from 1:08 p.m. to 4 p.m. PDT. Others shook their heads in disgust as the Mariners piled runs by the pair. The most frustrated of the bunch forfeited their pricey postseason tickets early, departing Comerica Park’s main level before the final pitch on their way back to the turnstiles.
One more win would lift Seattle into the American League Championship Series (ALCS) for the first time since 2001. The Mariners are the only team in MLB to never win a league pennant, but their chance to change that brutal statistic grows by the week.
“It feels great,” Suarez said. “We’ve battled all year long. To be one step closer to going to the (AL) championship… we don’t have the job done yet. We’ve got to continue to play like this. Today was a great game for us.
“I think the Seattle Mariners deserve where we are right now, and the fans as well.”
Gilbert was fabulous over six innings, mixing an effective slider with overpowering four-seamers and a devastating splitter considered one of the sport’s best pitches. The 6-foot-6 right-hander allowed four hits and one earned run with no walks and seven strikeouts, escaping a shaky fifth frame with only one run of damage.
“It’s kind of crazy, coming in and basically only throwing a fastball in 2021,” Gilbert said Tuesday. “Then, learning the slider I have now and really feeling good about that. … It was nice trying to work everything in there tonight. Cal always does a great job seeing what’s working, what we need to go to.
“I just try to follow his lead.”
Seattle’s Victor Robles led off the third inning with a stand-up double roped down the left field line, and J.P. Crawford followed with a line-drive single to center field. Robles initially stopped at third base with no outs, but Detroit failed to cut off Parker Meadows’ throw to the infield, which bounced past Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler at home and rolled to the backstop.
Robles dashed for home and scored ahead of Dingler’s tag by milliseconds. A Tigers’ challenge confirmed Seattle had struck first for the third time in as many ALDS games.
Before Flaherty could finish the third inning, Randy Arozarena singled up the middle to score Crawford and double Seattle’s 2-0 lead.
Seattle pounced for another pair of runs in the fourth, sparked by Suarez’s leadoff blast. Dominic Canzone and Crawford walked before Cal Raleigh delivered an RBI single through the middle, draining whatever energy Comerica Park had left.
Gilbert rolled through four innings before a shaky fifth, when Javier Baez’s one-out single put runners on the corners. Kerry Carpenter followed with a textbook double-play ground ball to second, but Naylor couldn’t complete the inning-ending catch at first base on a low throw by Crawford. Dingler scored, the only run charged to Gilbert throughout his stellar night.
“It was vintage Logan,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “I thought he attacked the zone. He got into good counts. You let the slider and the split do his work for him.
“To get that (on) the road in a big game tonight after a long rain delay… You can’t discredit that either. Being able to come out and throw an outing like that after waiting around for a couple hours is another feather in his cap.
“He answered the call tonight, no question about it. It was what we needed, for sure.”
Crawford barreled a sixth-inning sweeper offered by Detroit reliever Brant Hurter well into the right field seats at Comerica Park for a solo homer, extending a 5-1 Mariners lead. Seattle’s shortstop added a sacrifice fly in the eighth, scoring Luke Raley.
“This is the most-complete team I’ve been on and seen,” Gilbert said. “Our offense did amazing and gave me a good lead to work with there. J.P., Geno… so good at baseball. Great teammates, too.
“And Cal doing what he does, of course.”
Raleigh’s heroics have reached October, but perhaps more miraculous was who caught it: Big Dumper’s two-run homer to left field in the ninth bounced into the glove of a front-row Mariners fan wearing a Northwest Green “DUMP HERE” shirt along with the No. 61. It was Raleigh’s 61st home run of a historic campaign, a 60-homer regular season that led MLB.
That lucky fan is Jameson Turner, escorted to the field-level tunnel outside Seattle’s clubhouse to meet Raleigh himself, receive a signed bat, and take photos with the face of the Mariners franchise. Immediately after securing the home-run ball, Turner ripped away his No. 61 shirt and revealed another “DUMP HERE” shirt with No. 62, just in case. The former Auburn High School grad told reporters he designed and created the shirts himself.
“I made it last week because I went to the final regular season game in Seattle,” Turner said, who now lives in Las Vegas. “I decided to fly out here and see if I could get one more shot. It’s unbelievable.”
At first, Raleigh’s blast appeared inconsequential in a game the Mariners had locked up innings before. But the Tigers refused to fold in the face of a seven-run deficit, tagging Seattle reliever Caleb Ferguson for three hits and a walk before the left-hander could record an out.
It forced Andres Munoz to enter with an 8-4 lead, and “Senor Smoke” did the rest — capped by Naylor’s unassisted double play at first base on a Meadows lineout.
Tigers starter Flaherty lasted only 3-1/3 innings, taxing a Detroit bullpen ahead of Game 4 — where the Mariners can clinch this best-of-five set and advance to the ALCS with Toronto or New York. Flaherty allowed four hits and four runs (three earned) with three walks and six strikeouts, his shortest start since July 21.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
