DETROIT – After Tigers left fielder Riley Greene grounded out weakly to end the fourth inning Wednesday, boos broke the resigned silence. Detroit had dropped eight consecutive games at Comerica Park, dating all the way back to Sept. 6. They’d managed two stray singles in four efficient innings from Bryce Miller, as the Mariners crept closer to a convincing series win. The lack of belief was especially evident in the upper deck, where rows of green seats were left unoccupied.
Aside from Caleb Ferguson’s Game 3 implosion, the Mariners’ bullpen had surrendered three hits and two earned runs across 13.1 innings in the ALDS’ first three games.
Which meant, facing a 3-0 deficit in the fifth inning, the Tigers were toast.
By now, though, you know that’s not true. You know the Mariners’ bullpen abruptly melted, squandering a golden chance to end the series early. You know Gabe Speier (0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER), Eduard Bazardo (1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER) and Carlos Vargas (1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER) were eviscerated. You know Seattle’s offense shrunk into a shell, mustering two singles and zero runs in four ineffectual innings after the bottom fell out.
You know the Tigers staved off elimination in a 9-3 win, with reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal set to start a win-or-go-home Game 5 Friday.
You probably think you know what happens next.
After all, Seattle sports tend to follow a familiar script, taking your fragile hope and tossing it off a waterfall.
It’s up to the Mariners to prove they can recover from Wednesday’s mammoth emotional wallop – and beat Skubal for a fourth time in the same season.
“When you get knocked down you either stand up or you stay down,” said Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford, who went 1 for 4 in defeat. “We’re going to get back up and fight.”
If that metaphor feels familiar, there’s a reason. After Seattle dropped three of its first four games on a pivotal road trip, Crawford said on Sept. 2: “Sometimes when we get knocked down in the fight, we stay down, and we can’t have that right now.”
Back then, Seattle didn’t stay down, ripping off 17 wins in 18 games to save its season and win the AL West. But none of that matters if the Mariners’ collective mettle melts under a playoff spotlight.
“We’ve got a lot of resiliency in this club,” said catcher Cal Raleigh, who went 1 for 3 with an RBI single. “I’ve got confidence in the guys that we’re going to go out and play good baseball. It’s going to be tough, but we’re up for the challenge.
“It’s what you do this time of year. You face good pitching. You face good teams. There’s going to be challenges and bumps in the road.”
Wednesday was not a bump. It was a battering ram to the windpipe.
It was also, in many ways, self-inflicted.
Miller – who was hampered throughout the season with a bone spur in his pitching elbow – was mostly magnificent in his playoff debut. But after surrendering an RBI double to Detroit catcher Dillon Dingler, Mariners manager Dan Wilson swapped Miller for Speier … and the bottom fell out further.
“Everything still felt really good and sharp. I was in a good spot,” said Miller, who threw just 55 pitches in 4.1 innings before being pulled.
” … Obviously I wish I could go six, seven innings and put us in a good spot. But this being my first postseason start, we’ve had a great bullpen all year. There’s no spot for me to sit there and argue about coming out or anything. I’ve got full trust in the guys coming in after me and in skip [Wilson]. It is what it is.”
It was what it was, an ambush of a previously stout bullpen.
Wilson could have left Miller in longer (though that strategy backfired when George Kirby surrendered a two-run homer to Kerry Carpenter in Game 1). He could have declined to pinch-hit Mitch Garver for Dominic Canzone, who was 1 for 1 with an RBI single before being replaced in the fourth inning. He could have yanked the struggling Speier before he served a 454-foot homer to Greene to start the sixth.
Left fielder Randy Arozarena could also have cut off the Dingler double that chased Miller from the game. The Mariners offense could have answered.
Yes, Wilson’s disastrous decisions fell like dominos.
But at some point, pitchers have to make pitches.
The Mariners have to stand up or stay down.
“We’ve been talking about workload. I think everyone’s a little tired, but that’s no excuse,” Speier said. “Honestly, we just need to execute a little bit better. I think we can make better pitches. Honestly, all my mind is on right now is Friday.”
After Tigers reliever Will Vest struck out Arozarena to end the agony, six flames sprang from behind the batter’s eye at Comerica Park. Fans, formerly booing, waved orange towels while a series of fireworks followed.
The Mariners’ season may have also gone up in smoke.
“You know going into the playoffs it’s going to be challenging. It’s not going to be easy,” Raleigh said. “You’re not just going to roll teams. That’s not usually how it goes. There’s a lot of fight in the other club as well. They’re a good ballclub. To me, it’s just, ‘Stay even-keeled. Flush it. Forget about it.’ You can’t dwell on it.”
The Mariners can make their fans forget about it, but there’s only one way.
Stand up or stay down. It’s time to choose.