Seattle Mariners: What stands out to Jon Morosi as ALDS goes to a Game 5

It looked like the Seattle Mariners were well on their way to an American League Division Series victory on Wednesday, until it didn’t.

Three observations from Seattle Mariners’ Game 4 loss to Tigers

The Mariners couldn’t hold onto a 3-0 lead, as the Detroit Tigers exploded for nine unanswered runs to force a deciding Game 5 Friday at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.

MLB Network insider Jon Morosi provided his instant reaction for Seattle Sports from the field at Comerica Park after Game 4. You can watch the video at the top of the post. Here are a couple of things he touched on.

• When the Tigers cut into Seattle’s lead with their first run in the fifth inning, Mariners manager Dan Wilson went to the bullpen that had been stingy in the first three games of the series.

And then…

“What happened here was a case of the Tiger bats finally waking up against a Mariner bullpen that has had to log a lot of innings in this series,” Morosi said.

That last part is maybe the most important. The two relievers the Tigers did the most damage against were two they’ve seen a lot of this week.

First was left-hander Gabe Speier, who had already thrown 2 2/3 innings over a pair of outings. He allowed an inherited runner to score and allowed two runs of his own on three hits and a walk while recording just two outs.

Second was Eduard Bazardo, who has now pitched in every game in the series. He allowed three runs on four hits in an inning of work as Detroit started to pull away.

• The other major concern for the Mariners coming out of Wednesday’s game was the offense, which rolled in Game 2 on Tuesday and built a 3-0 lead by the bottom of the fifth inning in Game 3.

But after that point, Seattle was shut out and produced just two hits over the final four innings.

“Now there are new questions for the Mariners after their offense went quiet after the first third of this ballgame,” Morosi said.

And you don’t want new questions about your offense when the favorite to win a second straight AL Cy Young Award this year looms in Game 5.

“For Seattle, they have to find a way to get some offensive punch from the latter half of the lineup, which was so productive at different times during this series,” Morosi said. “…. Now the pressure will belong I believe to some extent on the home team on Friday night. The Mariners still (have) a chance to clinch a berth to the American League Championship Series, but they’ll have to do against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.”

More on the Seattle Mariners

• What to know as Mariners head to deciding Game 5 in ALDS
• ALDS is going five games: Mariners lose 9-3 to Tigers in Game 4
• Three things Adam Wainwright said about Mariners
• Back half of Mariners’ lineup makes its mark in playoffs
• ‘Dump Here’: Big Dumper fan catches Cal Raleigh HR ball

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