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Detroit Tigers vs Seattle Mariners Game 5 score predictions, picks for ALDS finale
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- Detroit Tigers vs Seattle Mariners Game 5 score predictions, picks for ALDS finale
The Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners will play once more to decide who advances from the ALDS to the ALCS in the 2025 MLB playoffs , after the Tigers scored nine consecutive runs in Game 4 for a 9-3 win Wednesday in Detroit .
We have Tigers-Mariners Game 5 predictions and picks from our six experts ahead of Friday's winner-take-all matchup at T-Mobile Park in Seattle (8:08 p.m., Fox).
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The Tigers have the Game 5 pitching advantage with presumptive 2025 AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal starting , while the Mariners are likely to counter with George Kirby .
Skubal, who attended nearby Seattle University, gave up two Jorge Polanco home runs in Game 2, the only runs he allowed in seven dominant innings. The Mariners won 3-2 on an eighth-inning RBI double from Julio Rodríguez against Kyle Finnegan . Seattle has won three Skubal starts already this season.
Kirby surrendered two runs in five innings in Game 1, allowing six hits, walking one and striking out eight. The Tigers won 3-2 in 11 innings.
The stat to know if Kirby is the Mariners' starter: Kerry Carpenter is 5-for-11 against Kirby with five home runs, including a two-run shot in Game 1.
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The winner heads to Toronto for Sunday's ALCS Game 1 at the Blue Jays . Here are Tigers-Mariners ALDS Game 5 score predictions from six Detroit Free Press writers.
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Carlos Monarrez
The Tigers have Tarik Skubal and momentum, but the Mariners have George Kirby and one of the best home records in the American League. Game 5 pick:Mariners 5, Tigers 4 (10 innings).
Evan Petzold
Not only is Tarik Skubal the Tigers' ace, but he's also the best pitcher in the world. He has already made three starts (regular season and playoffs) against the Mariners in 2025. Those results for the Tigers: a 3-2 loss April 2, a 12-3 loss July 11 and a 3-2 loss Sunday. This prediction is easy: The Mariners aren't beating the Tigers in four Skubal starts in the same year, so expect a win for the Tigers — and a trip to the ALCS for the first time since 2013. Game 5 pick:Tigers 2, Mariners 1.
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Jeff Seidel
Doubt Tarik Skubal. Go ahead. I dare you. This is going to be a crazy game in front of those intense, incredibly loud Seattle fans. Skubal might give up a homer, because he challenges everybody. But with the season on the line, there's nobody else I would want to have the ball. Javier Báez gets the winning hit. Just because it's Javy. Game 5 pick:Tigers 3, Mariners 1.
Shawn Windsor
They looked spent, finished — the season looked done in the bottom of the fifth inning of Game 4. But then these Tigers, eh? They promised they'd keep fighting and they did, and now they get the chance to advance to the ALCS with Tarik Skubal on the mound. Seattle is part of the story, too, and has the better lineup and as hungry a fanbase ... and probably more. In a thrilling and stressful game, the Mariners eke it out. Game 5 pick:Mariners 3, Tigers 2.
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Christian Romo
The Tigers have shown this postseason that the longer they play against their opponents, the better they end up hitting. Blame the reliever familiarity effect if you want – all you need to know is Detroit's hitters are getting hot and will score more runs than Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal will allow, sending the Tigers to an ALCS they've deserved for two years now. Game 5 pick:Tigers 5, Mariners 1.
Ryan Ford
How many times have we seen the Tigers bust out the bats in one game, only to snooze at the plate in the next? Nine times. (I counted: Nine times, they've scored at least nine runs one game, and then two — or less — the next.) And considering the Tigers didn't reach nine runs once over the final three weeks of the regular season … well, that's too many to bet on them backing another Tarik Skubal gem. So, unless he figures out how to give up negative runs, let's make it … Game 5 pick:Mariners 3, Tigers 1.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers vs Mariners picks, predictions for Game 5 of ALDS
