Seattle Mariners manager had a chance to walk Detroit Tigers third baseman Zach McKinstry before his walk-off hit in Game 1 of the ALDS.
The Tigers had first base open, which left the opportunity open to walk the struggling batter who has a .077 batting average and a .327 OPS in the 2025 postseason. He had Javy Baez behind him in the lineup, who has a .313 batting average and a .688 OPS so far through four postseason games.
Instead, McKinstry ripped a single on a ground ball to center field and scored Spencer Torkelson from second base to give the Tigers a 3-2 victory to take a 1-0 series lead in the ALDS.
Wilson considered making the move to put runners at first and second, but he ended up deciding against it.
“We talked about it,” Wilson said according to ESPN. “Obviously, Vargy gets the ball on the ground, and that's what he does best, righty or lefty and, you know, he got the ball on the ground.”
The Tigers had two outs with Mariners reliever Carlos Vargas on the mound. Wilson believed that Vargas could keep the ball on the ground and get an out. After all, he got though the 2025 regular season with a 5-5 record with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP in 70 appearances.
Vargas did keep the ball on the ground, but it squeaked into the outfield and the Tigers came away victorious.
The Mariners will look to bounce back in Game 2 of their NLDS series against the Tigers on Sunday night at T-Mobile Park in Seattle at 8:03 p.m. EST. Luis Castillo will take the bump against Detroit star Tarik Skubal in a battle of two aces.
Castillo finished the 2025 regular season with an 11-8 record with a 3.54 ERA. Skubal was in Cy Young conversations for most of 2025 after finishing the season with a 13-6 record with a 2.21 ERA.
