The Seattle Mariners earned a bye to the ALDS round by virtue of finishing 90-72 this season, which was good enough for their first AL West title since 2001 and the second-best record among AL division winners. The Detroit Tigers had hopes of getting a bye for nearly the entire season, but blowing a 14-game lead in the AL Central meant they needed to hit the road in the Wild Card Series as a No. 6 seed. No matter -- the Tigers took down the Guardians in three games to advance here.
Detroit eked out an extra-inning win in Game 1 and Seattle needed late-inning heroics to even up the series with a Game 2 victory.
The Tigers and Mariners have never squared off in the playoffs before, so it's a fresh matchup. The Tigers haven't won the World Series since 1984, while the Mariners are the only team in baseball to have never been to the World Series. Bet Tigers vs. Mariners at FanDuel Sportsbook, where new users get $300 in bonus bets with a winning $5 wager:
Mariners vs. Tigers schedule
Game 1 | Sat., Oct. 4 | DET 3, SEA 2 | FS1 | fubo |
Game 2 | Sun., Oct. 5 | SEA 3, DET 2 | FS1 | fubo |
| Game 3 | Tues., Oct. 7 | 7 p.m. ET | FS2, MLBN | fubo |
| Game 4 (if nec.) | Wed., Oct. 8 | 3:08 p.m. or 7:08 p.m. ET | FS1 | fubo |
| Game 5 (if nec.) | Fri., Oct. 10 | 4:40 p.m. or 8:08 p.m. ET | FS1 or Fox | fubo |
Mariners vs. Tigers: Game 3 info
- Time: 7 p.m. ET | Date: Tues., Oct. 7
- Location: Comerica Park -- Detroit
- TV channel: FS2, MLB Network | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
- Starting pitchers: RHP Logan Gilbert (SEA) vs. RHP Jack Flaherty (DET)
- Odds: Tigers -154, Mariners +135
Game 3 storylines
Tigers: The nature of MLB's playoff structure is that the inferior seed has to win at least one road game to advance. The Tigers did that, and now, with two home games ahead of them, they have a chance to punch a ticket to the next round without returning to Seattle.
Mariners: Baseball is a funny sport. The Mariners would've probably understood losing one of the first two games of this series coming in. But, because they were able to win Tarik Skubal's start, they can head into Game 3 with heightened spirits. The Mariners need only to split the two games in Detroit to force a return trip to Seattle.
Game 3 prediction
I had the Mariners taking this series, and it's in part because of how much I prefer their rotation to the non-Skubal portions of Detroit's. With that in mind, I think Gilbert will lift the Mariners over the Tigers. Let's call it a 4-1 Seattle win. Winner: Mariners. - R.J. Anderson
