On the ropes entering the bottom of the fifth inning, the Detroit Tigers' season looked to be on the brink. Down 3-0 to the AL West champion Seattle Mariners, the Tigers' bats needed to wake up, and fast. However, the home team finally broke through against the Mariners' pitching staff. Three runs in the fifth tied the fourth game of Detroit and Seattle's AL Division Series (ALDS) Game 4. From there, the Tigers continued to pounce. After the win, Detroit shortstop Javier Baez commented on the boos from the fans at Comerica Park. Team beat reporter Evan Woodbury shared Baez's mindset via X, formerly Twitter.
“The boos, I don't mind,” Baez commented postgame. “I mean, I've heard boos all my career. You've got to let the fans be fans, you know?”
The fans' boos were warranted in the first few innings. Mariners starter Bryce Miller cruised through the first four frames, only allowing two hits. However, the fifth was a different story. After a single from Spencer Torkelson and a fielder's choice from Zach McKinstry, catcher Dillon Dingler drove in McKinstry with a double. After Miller departed, reliever Gabe Speier allowed consecutive hits to pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones and Baez to tie the game at 3. From there, it was all Tigers. Can the offense sustain this momentum back in Seattle to punch a ticket to the AL Championship Series (ALCS)?
Tigers look to capture ALDS Game 5, advance to ALCS
Baez had his best season with the Tigers so far, four years into a massive six-year, $140 million deal signed before the 2022 season. His first three seasons with Detroit have been filled with disappointment. However, 2025 has seen the man also known as “El Mago” show flashes of his former self. During this postseason run, the shortstop has hit .318 from the bottom of the lineup.
Can Baez's postseason experience (42 games so far, including his World Series run with the Chicago Cubs in 2016) continue to bolster the Tigers' lineup? Game 5 in Seattle is for all the marbles. The Mariners haven't made it to the ALCS since 2001, their best season in franchise history. Detroit hasn't been since 2013. Which one of these long-suffering franchises will break their current drought and return to the ALCS? Baez and the Wild Card Tigers will work to ensure they win their second game at T-Mobile Field on Friday.
