M’S RALLY FOR 9 RUNS IN FINAL 4 FRAMES TO DEFEAT TIGERS

Detroit’s Pen Collapse Echoes Season-Long Struggle

DETROIT, Sept. 29 (AP) – The Seattle Mariners rallied from a 4-run sixth inning deficit, scoring nine times over the final four frames, and went on to defeat the Detroit Tigers 9-7 in a wildcard play-in game at Comerica Park.  The Mariners will now travel back to the Pacific Northwest to host the Toronto Blue Jays, who defeated the New York Yankees in a play-in game of their own, tomorrow, to finally settle the epic saga of the last American League Wildcard slot. 

The Tigers bullpen—among the worst performing relief units in the major leagues throughout the regular season—was charged with seven runs (six earned) on nine hits and four walks over 3 2/3 innings.  Detroit manager Brad Ausmus used seven different relievers in a frantic, and utterly fruitless, attempt to staunch the Seattle rally.

It appeared for all the world that the Tigers would blow the game open early.  After Detroit starter Justin Verlander held the Mariners off the scoreboard in the top of the first, the Tigers battered Seattle right-hander Chris Young in the bottom half.  Ian Kinsler led off with a base hit and was doubled to third by Torii Hunter.  Miguel Cabrera’s two-bagger drove both runners home, and Victor Martinez followed with his 30^th home run of the season to make it 4-0 Detroit before many of the sellout crowd’s patrons had found their seats in the grandstand.  Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon had his bullpen going, but Young, despite allowing a third double of the inning, this one to Nick Castellanos, was able to escape further damage.

Critically, but largely unremarked upon at the time, Young demonstrated remarkable poise and completely settled down, retiring 13 consecutive batters after the Castellanos double in the first inning.  The string was interrupted by an infield single yielded to Hunter in the fifth, but Young completed his day by fanning Cabrera to end the frame.  The opening inning had been a catastrophe, but Young had given his teammates an opportunity to get back in the game and saved the bullpen in the process.

Unfortunately for Seattle, Verlander was on cruise control, holding the Mariners to three hits through the first five innings.  The only Seattle baserunner to advance past second was Mike Zunino, who doubled with one out in the fifth.  He advanced to third on Brad Miller’s deep fly to left, but was stranded when Austin Jackson flied to right to end the inning.

The Mariners comeback began in the top of the sixth, and was aided by the Detroit defense.  Verlander retired Dustin Ackley on a grounder to short and then induced another grounder off the bat of Robinson Cano, but Andrew Romine booted it for an error.  Kendrys Morales followed with a base hit to center, with Cano taking third.  Ausmus, who had his bullpen going, decided to replace Verlander, who was approaching 90 pitches for the game and had been effective but not overpowering (only one strikeout and a number of hard-hit balls throughout), with lefty Phil Coke to face Kyle Seager.  The move blew up in his face when Seager, who had slumped throughout the season’s final month, roped a first-pitch double over the head of center fielder Austin Jackson.  Cano scored and Morales advanced to third.  It was now 4-1.  With the infield back, Logan Morrison grounded to short, with Morales scoring, to make it 4-2.  Michael Suanders then singled to right, plating Seager.  Al Alburquerque replaced Coke and retired Zunino on yet another ground ball to Romine, to finally end the inning, but the Mariners had scored three runs, only one of them earned, and had pulled to within 4-3.

Danny Farquhar replaced Young and retired the Tigers in order in the bottom of the sixth and Alburquerque immediately ran into trouble in the top of the seventh, walking Brad Miller to open the frame.  Jackson fanned, and Blaine Hardy replaced Alburquerque, but Ackley greeted the new pitcher with a double down the left field line, chasing Miller to third, and Cano’s soft grounder to second then scored Miller with the tying run.  Hardy pitched out of further difficulty, but the four-run lead was now completely gone.

Farquhar pitched around Avila’s lead-off single in the bottom of the seventh and in the top of the eighth, Hardy walked Morrison, giving Seattle another lead-off baserunner.  James Jones ran for Morrison and he advanced to third when Saunders singled to right.  Jim Johnson came on to face Zunino, who already had two hits in the game, but the Mariners catcher roped a double to right-center, scoring Jones and advancing Saunders to third, giving Seattle its first lead of the game at 5-4.  Chris Taylor was called upon to run for Zunino.  Miller flied to shallow center, with the runners holding, but Castellanos kicked Jackson’s ground ball, allowing Saunders to score another unearned run and Taylor to advance to third.  Ackley struck out, but Cano’s single to center brought home yet another unearned run and the Mariners took a 7-4 lead to the bottom of the eighth.

The Tigers, to their credit, didn’t quit.  Dominic Leone took over on the mound for Seattle and retired Hunter and Cabrera on routine ground balls, but he walked Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez.  McClendon had seen enough; with the tying run at the plate, he summoned his closer, Fernando Rodney, to nail down a four-out save.  But Caatellanos partially atoned for the previous inning’s miscue by ripping a double to right-center, scoring both baserunners and bringing Detroit to within a single run at 7-6.  Rodney retired Brian Holaday on strikes to allow the Mariners to retain the one-run lead.

Joba Chamberlain was summoned to the mound at the start of the ninth by Ausmus with instructions to keep things right where they were, but he failed.  He surrendered a lead-off single to Seager—the fourth consecutive inning that the Mariners had put the lead-off man on base—and then wild pitched Seager to second.  He then walked Justin Smoak on four pitches.  That was enough for Ausmus, who called on lefty Pat McCoy.  But McCoy yielded a single to left to Saunders, loading the bases.  That brought Joe Nathan into the game to face Jesus Sucre, who had taken over behind the plate after Zunino was lifted for a pinch runner.  Sucre greeted Nathan by lining a single to left, scoring Seager and advancing the other runners 90 feet.  It was now 8-6.  Miller lifted a fly to left, deep enough to score Smoak, but Saunders was thrown out trying to advance to third.  Nathan then fanned Jackson to end the inning, but the Tigers trailed by three again.

Detroit led the major leagues in scoring this season and the Tigers showed their indefatigable spirit in the bottom of the ninth.  Rodney retired Romine on a fly to right, but Rajai Davis drew a walk.  Kinsler grounded to third, with Romine taking second, but Hunter drew a free pass, bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of Cabrera.  The Tigers first baseman fell behind 1-2, but managed to ground a base hit to center, scoring Kinsler and advancing Hunter to second.  The tying runs were now on base and the potential winning run was standing at the plate in the form of Victor Martinez, who had already homered in the game.  But this time, on a 2-2 pitch, he grounded to Seager.  The Mariners third baseman threw to first for the final out of the game, allowing the Mariners to move on to face the Blue Jays.

9/29/2014, Sea14-Det14, Comerica Park

                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP

2014 Mariners          0  0  0  0  0  3  1  3  2     9 13  0    10  0

2014 Tigers            4  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  1     7 10  2     6  1

Mariners             AB  R  H BI   AVG    Tigers               AB  R  H BI   AVG

Jackson,A         cf  6  0  0  0  .257    Kinsler           2b  5  1  1  0  .312

Ackley            lf  5  0  2  0  .243    Hunter,Tor        rf  4  1  2  0  .256

Cano              2b  5  1  1  2  .313    Cabrera,Mi        1b  5  1  2  3  .316

Morales,K         dh  4  1  1  0  .216    Martinez,V        dh  4  2  1  2  .324

Seager            3b  5  2  2  1  .256    Martinez,J        lf  4  1  1  0  .351

Morrison          1b  3  0  0  1  .231    Castellanos       3b  4  0  2  2  .254

 Jones,J          pr  0  1  0  0  .246     Kelly,D          pr  0  0  0  0  .260

 Smoak            1b  0  1  0  0  .252    Avila             c   3  0  1  0  .209

Saunders,M        rf  4  1  3  1  .316     Carrera          pr  0  0  0  0  .250

Zunino            c   4  0  3  1  .193     Holaday          c   1  0  0  0  .253

 Taylor,C         pr  0  1  0  0  .271    Romine,An         ss  3  0  0  0  .273

 Sucre            c   1  0  1  1  .250    Davis,R           cf  3  1  0  0  .285

Miller,B          ss  3  1  0  1  .198                         36  7 10  7

                     40  9 13  8

Mariners                         INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

Young,CR                         5.0  6  4  4  0  3  72  47  4.73

Farquhar         W 4-1           2.0  1  0  0  0  3  26  20  2.22

Leone            H 10            0.2  1  2  2  1  0  20  11  3.45

Rodney           S 43            1.1  2  1  1  2  1  33  18  2.81

                                 9.0 10  7  7  3  7 151  96

Tigers                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

Verlander                        5.1  4  2  0  1  1  89  58  3.59

Coke             H 15            0.1  2  1  1  0  0   8   6  3.98

Alburquerque     H 24            0.2  0  1  1  1  1  13   7  3.36

Hardy,B          BS 5, L 0-4     0.2  2  2  1  2  0  18   7  2.50

Johnson,J                        1.0  2  1  0  0  1  25  14  4.14

Chamberlain                      0.0  1  2  2  1  0   6   1  2.73

McCoy                            0.0  1  0  0  0  0   3   2  8.04

Nathan                           1.0  1  0  0  0  1  10   9  3.41

                                 9.0 13  9  5  5  4 172 104

Sea: Jones,J ran for Morrison in the 8th

     Taylor,C ran for Zunino in the 8th

     Smoak inserted at 1b in the 8th

     Sucre inserted at c in the 8th

Det: Carrera ran for Avila in the 7th

     Holaday inserted at c in the 8th

     Kelly,D ran for Castellanos in the 8th

     Kelly,D moved to 3b in the 9th

E-Castellanos, Romine,An. 2B-Ackley(26), Seager(30), Zunino 2(24),

Hunter,Tor(30), Cabrera,Mi(46), Martinez,J(25), Castellanos 2(34).

HR-Martinez,V(31). RBI-Cano 2(85), Seager(86), Morrison(29), Saunders,M(45),

Zunino(54), Miller,B(30), Sucre(3), Cabrera,Mi 3(118), Martinez,V 2(103),

Castellanos 2(66). SB-Carrera(7). K-Jackson,A 2, Ackley, Seager, Kinsler,

Hunter,Tor, Cabrera,Mi, Castellanos, Avila, Davis,R, Holaday. BB-Morales,K,

Morrison, Saunders,M, Miller,B, Smoak, Hunter,Tor, Martinez,V, Davis,R.

SH-Romine,An. SF-Miller,B. WP-Chamberlain.

GWRBI: Zunino

Temperature: 65, Sky: cloudy, Wind: left to right at 17 MPH.

Attendance: 41,136

Game Time: 3:43