Three observations from Mariners’ Game 4 loss to Tigers

A look at what stood out from the Seattle Mariners' 9-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Game 4 of the ALDS.

Oct 8, 2025, 4:19 PM Updated: 4:30 pm

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The Seattle Mariners appeared to be on their way to a series-clinching victory in Detroit, but it all started to unravel in the fifth inning as the Tigers rallied to force a deciding Game 5.

After the M’s led 3-0, Detroit surged for nine unanswered runs on its way to a season-saving 9-3 win in Game 4 of the American League Division Series.

ALDS is going 5 games: Seattle Mariners lose 9-3 to Tigers in Game 4

Now the series shifts back to Seattle where both squads will be playing to keep their seasons alive and advance to the AL Championship Series.

Here are three things that stand out from the Mariners’ Game 4 loss.

Bullpen implodes after interesting decision

Seattle’s bullpen was mostly excellent in the first three games of the series. Outside of a rough outing from Caleb Ferguson with the game well in hand in the ninth on Tuesday, M’s relievers had allowed only two earned runs over 13 1/3 innings of work.

But that all changed very quickly on Wednesday as two of Seattle’s most reliable bullpen arms combined to give up five runs and the Tigers kept adding on afterwards to pull away for the win.

It all started when manager Dan Wilson turned to the usually dependable Gabe Speier after starter Bryce Miller ran into his first bit of trouble following an RBI double for Detroit’s first run with one out in the bottom of the fifth.

Speier came in to face lefty bat Parker Meadows, but Detroit countered with the right-handed bat of Jahmai Jones as a pinch-hitter, and he promptly hit an RBI double on the first pitch he saw. Speier gave up another run on a single by Javier Báez before escaping the inning, but he also surrendered a solo home run to Riley Greene to lead off the sixth.

Things didn’t go any better for Eduard Bazardo, who gave up three more runs in the sixth. And Detroit added another pair of runs off Carlos Vargas afterwards.

It’s always easy to second guess a manager’s decision in hindsight, especially ones that get bad results, but the choice to pull Miller at just 55 pitches was an interesting one even in the moment. It essentially gave Detroit the opportunity to pull out the worst batter in its lineup (Meadows) for a pinch-hitter that crushed left-handed pitching all season (Jones). Plus, Báez, who hit nearly 100 points higher against left-handers during the regular season, was due up next.

Missed opportunity looms large

Any conversation about whether or not Wilson should of stuck with Miller in the fifth inning probably wouldn’t be happening had the M’s found a way to capitalize on a golden opportunity to take firm control of the game in the fourth.

Seattle loaded up the bases with nobody out and a 1-0 lead, but Victor Robles grounded into a double play, J.P. Crawford popped out in foul territory and the M’s came away with just a single run.

If Seattle was able to push a few across in that inning, Miller probably gets to at least face Meadows and Báez before Kerry Carpenter was due up, and we may be talking about a Mariners win and looking forward to the ALCS instead of a win-or-go-home Game 5 against reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.

Naylor a bright spot in loss

While Wednesday’s loss was certainly a painful one for the M’s, the all-around performance of first baseman Josh Naylor was a good sign heading into Game 5.

Naylor checked in with three hits, including a double, and scored two runs after going hitless in his first three playoff games.

He made a number of good defensive plays at first base, including a high-IQ play where he fielded a one-hopper and tagged the runner at first trying to get back to the bag before stepping on first to get the batter for a double play.

Additionally, Naylor appeared to be signaling pitch locations to M’s batters both times he was on second base. The first time it resulted in a Dominic Canzone RBI single, and the second time it looked like it rattled Tigers reliever Tyler Holton, who walked Mitch Garver after going up 0-2 in the count.