Jon Morosi’s takeaways from Mariners’ Game 5 ALDS win
Oct 11, 2025, 12:22 AM
It took 15 innings in Game 5, but the Seattle Mariners have won their American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers and now have a date with the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL Championship Series.
On to the ALCS: Polanco lifts Mariners over Tigers in ALDS epic
MLB Network insider Jon Morosi was there for every moment of the Mariners’ ALDS with Detroit, including Friday’s epic marathon. What stood out to him?
We caught up with Morosi on the field at T-Mobile Park right after the Mariners’ win. You can watch the full video at the top of this post. Here are a few takeaways from his instant reaction.
• You may recall that the last time the M’s were in the ALDS, they played a marathon in an elimination game at home. That one, Game 3 of the 2022 ALDS against the Houston Astros, went 18 innings and ended in a 1-0 M’s loss that ended their season.
This time, there were a few less innings, a few more runs, and the Mariners sent the home fans happy. And that’s something Morosi heard about from a pair of Mariners players, J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodríguez, when he caught up with them after the game.
“Almost immediately both of them talked about the fans,” Morosi said. “The fan support, you can feel it. It was very poignant that so many people around this organization were here three years ago for the disappointing loss to the Astros. It’s a very different script now, and you can really feel that it meant all the more to them to be part of that game and now to have a very different ending here tonight.”
• There were two heroes from Friday’s win that Morosi highlighted.
First was a reliever who went above and beyond with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, all in extra innings.
“One of my unsung heroes of the game: Eduard Bazardo. What an amazing performance for him in extra innings, all of those high-stress pitches,” Morosi said.
Filth. #SeizeTheMoment pic.twitter.com/cMId2bWH5o
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) October 11, 2025
The other is the obvious one: Jorge Polanco, who had the walk-off RBI single in the 15th. That came five days after he was the star of Seattle’s Game 2 win when he hit a pair of home runs off reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal.
“I think it was fitting that Jorge Polanco was the hero. He was certainly the catalyst in the Game 2 win here at T-Mobile with his two homers against Tarik Skubal,” Morosi said.
ALCS, HERE WE COME! #SeizeTheMoment pic.twitter.com/wSozKlK1MW
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) October 11, 2025
The way Polanco delivered the win is something worth mentioning, too.
“I think it was important for the way this game is going to be remembered that it was a hit and not a walk that ended it,” Morosi said. “That took it to that next level to where you’ll see the Polanco hit juxtaposed with the Edgar Martinez double (from 1995). … Now the current generation of Mariner fans, all the young people in this crowd, they now have their own Edgar moment. It was authored by Jorge Polanco.”
More on the Seattle Mariners
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• Josh Naylor, crowd noise make early mark on Game 5 for Mariners
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