The Mariners and Tigers provided an absolute classic of a winner-take-all Game 5 Friday in Seattle.
Mariners fans eventually got to go home happy as the home squad finally fought off the Tigers in 15 innings thanks to a walk-off hit from Jorge Polanco with the bases loaded to bring in J.P. Crawford. Both sides had to go deep in their bullpens and even back into the starting rotation due to the everlasting decider.
Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Randy Arozarena and Eugenio Suárez were a combined 1-for-21 from the plate in the pitcher's duel. Although each extra innings at-bat from one of Mariners' powerful hitters felt like they were due for a walk-off homer, it was a base hit through the infield from Polanco that finally ended the game and sent Seattle into pandemonium.
JORGE POLANCO WINS IT IN THE 15TH INNING!
— MLB (@MLB) October 11, 2025
THE @MARINERS ARE HEADING TO THE ALCS!!! pic.twitter.com/IEb6DLrHaY
A full nine innings took place after Tigers ace and Cy Young Award frontrunner Tarik Skubal was pulled after six innings and 99 pitches. With close to 500 total pitches thrown, numerous jams avoided and records broken, here are five of the craziest stats coming out of the instant classic Game 5 at T-Mobile Park:
1. This was the longest winner-take-all postseason game in MLB history
Where else can we start? Friday's Game 5 went into early Saturday morning on the East Coast. The 15-inning classic became the longest winner-take-all playoff game by innings in MLB history, per MLB's Sarah Langs.
In general, Friday's Tigers-Mariners bout is tied for the sixth-longest playoff game in league history. They needed to go four more innings to own the longest playoff game record outright, although I doubt either side wanted to. The Blue Jays would have been even more thrilled, though.
Seattle hosted what's tied for the longest postseason game in MLB history in a 1-0 loss to the Astros in 18 innings during Game 3 of the 2022 ALDS. That was the first playoff game played in Seattle in 21 years. Now, the home fans get another classic, but this time they come out on the right side.
2. Each team used three of their four starting pitchers from the series in Game 5
The Tigers used eight pitchers over the 15-inning marathon compared to just seven for Seattle. Both sides brought in two starters in relief once the winner-take-all game began to pour deep into extras.
In total, 472 pitches were thrown over the seemingly never-ending game. Detroit pitchers threw 263 of those, compared to 209 for Seattle hurlers who had an easier time with the Tigers' offense. Well, everyone besides Kerry Carpenter. As the Mariners survived the marathon, they have Saturday off before they meet the Blue Jays for Game 1 of the ALCS. Although they had to use their pitching depth, they hope their ace Bryan Woo can return for the series with Toronto after he missed the ALDS while dealing with a pec injury.
3. Seattle's victory gives the Mariners their first ALCS appearance since '01
This obviously would have happened with a Mariners win if the game went 15 innings or not, but the big night in Seattle stands out amongst the chaos of Game 5. Polanco was the hero, driving in Crawford in the 15th inning to advance the Mariners to their first ALCS in nearly a quarter century. Polanco had an unbelievable series, hitting two home runs off Skubal in Game 2 to help Seattle eventually earn their first win of the series.
He comes up big once more when Seattle needed it most and gave the city a night they'll never forget.
4. Kerry Carpenter reached a feat not seen since Babe Ruth
Carpenter hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to give Detroit the lead before the Mariners tied it up in the seventh. He was 4-for-5 on the night with two walks, reaching base a whopping six times on the night. Per OptaSTATS, he became the first MLB player to reach base five times and hit a homer in a winner-take-all postseason game since Babe Ruth in 1926.
Ruth hilariously went 1-for-1 from the plate with four walks during that game. So Carpenter effectively had more success hitting than Ruth did in his similar game nearly 100 years ago. Tigers fans affectionately refer to Carpenter as "Kerry Bonds"—maybe they need to change that to "Kerry Ruth."
5. Tarik Skubal becomes the only pitcher in MLB history with 13 or more strikeouts in two games during the same postseason
Skubal was dominant yet again, striking out 13 batters in six innings of one-run ball. He had 14 strikeouts in his first postseason start this year, which came in Game 1 of Detroit's AL wild-card series against the Guardians. The Cy Young Award front-runner becomes the first pitcher in MLB history with 13-plus punchouts in two games over the same postseason. Gerrit Cole and Bob Gibson have multiple playoff games with 13 or more strikeouts, but not in the same postseason.
The Tigers ace threw nine strikeouts in his Game 2 start against the Mariners, but Detroit couldn't win either of Skubal's starts against Seattle due to its sputtering offense. In Game 5, A.J. Hinch pulled Skubal after six innings and 99 pitches thrown. He had the lead at that point, which Detroit's bullpen quickly lost in the seventh. If Skubal at least started the seventh, maybe chaos would have never ensued. Nobody could have expected the game to last another nine innings after Skubal's night was over, but his latest great outing can't be overlooked.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Five of the Wildest Stats From Tigers-Mariners Marathon Game 5 to End ALDS.
