Tigers rout Mariners 11-0 Thursday in the rubber match of a three-game series at T-Mobile Park, keeping Detroit's playoff push alive, according to The Detroit News. The win gave the Tigers their sixth consecutive road series victory and pulled the team to within four games of the American League Central lead and one game of the final wild-card spot, even as Detroit remained under .500 at 56-59.
The victory marked Detroit's 12th shutout of the season and its fifth win in six games on the current West Coast trip, The Detroit News reported. Over the last eight games, the Tigers have outscored opponents by 55 runs, a stretch manager AJ Hinch and his players say reflects a team that has stayed composed despite losing key pieces at the trade deadline, including Jake Rogers, Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize.
"Our personality is locked in," Hinch said, according to The Detroit News. "This group doesn't really get impacted by too much. Multiple things can happen at the same time. We can be bummed that a few of our favorites have walked out the door and still collect ourselves and go back to playing the game. That's what we can control. We still have a lot of talent in this room as we proved by coming here and winning a series and chipping away at the hole we've dug. We're not out of it yet. But we are heading in the right direction."
Infielder Colt Keith, who finished with three hits and two RBI, said the club has tuned out the standings entirely. "I think we are just putting our heads down, going out and playing," Keith said. "I don't know other teams' records. I barely know ours. We're just playing good ball. We're going out and having good at-bats and playing well."
Detroit's offense wasted no time against Mariners starter Bryce Miller, who had not allowed the Tigers a run in 25 innings dating back through previous outings. Kevin McGonigle led off the game with a walk, and catcher Dillon Dingler followed by driving a home run over a leaping Julio Rodriguez and into the right-center field seats, according to The Detroit News. Riley Greene and Keith added back-to-back doubles as Detroit built an early 3-0 lead and forced Miller to throw 40 pitches in the first inning alone.
"We had a good plan against him," Dingler said. "That team likes to use the fastball and we tried to take it away from them. Those at-bats we had in the first set the tone." Keith noted that Miller struggled to command his splitter early, allowing Detroit hitters to lay off pitches out of the zone. Dingler added another RBI in the second inning with a two-out single, part of a season in which he has driven in 78 runs, including a league-leading 38 with two outs, per figures cited by The Detroit News. Entering the game, Dingler ranked third among position players in FanGraphs wins above replacement at 5.4.
McGonigle capped the scoring surge with a two-run homer, his 12th of the season, during a four-run seventh inning that put the game away. Detroit tacked on three more runs in the ninth against position player Victor Robles, who pitched for Seattle in a mop-up role.
On the mound, Tigers starter Framber Valdez delivered his second consecutive seven-inning outing, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out Dominic Canzone and inducing a groundout from Rodriguez in a key sixth-inning jam, The Detroit News reported. "He locked in as the game went on," Hinch said. "Early he was nibbling a little bit. They talked about it in the dugout between innings. Getting him to be a little more aggressive and trust his stuff was key." Dingler credited Valdez's ability to mix a sinker thrown around 95 mph with a slower curveball to keep Seattle hitters off balance.
For Seattle, the loss capped a brutal stretch following Monday's trade deadline. According to MLB.com, the Mariners were outscored 21-4 over their first three games after the deadline, with Thursday's 11-0 defeat standing as their most lopsided loss of the season. It was Seattle's 11th shutout of the year, tying the Mets, Giants and Pirates for the most in baseball. The series swing was dramatic: Seattle's full-season run differential fell from plus-3 to minus-14 in just three games.
Miller, who needed 40 pitches to escape the first inning while surrendering two doubles, two home runs and two walks, acknowledged his recent struggles. "I've got to be better at the beginning of the game and get off to a better start," he said, per MLB.com. His four-seam fastball has averaged 95.7 mph recently, down from 97.5 mph when he returned from the injured list on May 13. The Mariners have lost each of Miller's past five starts, over which he owns a 5.81 ERA, a steep decline from the 1.71 ERA he posted through his first nine outings this season.
Acting manager Manny Acta said Miller's early struggles compounded an already limited offensive effort. "He didn't come out very sharp from the get-go and made us play catch-up baseball," Acta said. "But we couldn't do anything offensively, anyways." Seattle managed seven hits, none for extra bases, while grounding into four double plays. The Mariners' only real scoring threat came in the sixth inning, when Canzone struck out looking and Rodriguez grounded out with runners on first and second.
Seattle was also missing regulars Cal Raleigh, Josh Naylor and Brendan Donovan, who each had scheduled days off, according to MLB.com. The Mariners, now 56-60, have lost 16 of their last 25 games and face a daunting stretch of 18 straight games against teams currently occupying playoff spots, beginning Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays, who own the best record in the American League. That slate also opens Seattle's 50th-season celebration and continues with road trips to the Yankees, Astros and Brewers before home dates against the Cubs and Phillies.
Detroit, meanwhile, carries its plus-37 run differential from the trip into a series in San Francisco, with Dingler summing up the mood in the clubhouse. "We're playing good ball," he said. "The offense is coming around. The defense has been great, the pitching is doing great. We have to keep on doing it."
