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Tigers winners/losers: Meat of order choked in Game 5, shows why Scott Harris must upgrade
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- Tigers winners/losers: Meat of order choked in Game 5, shows why Scott Harris must upgrade
The Detroit Tigers lost Game 5 of the ALDS to the Seattle Mariners on Friday, Oct. 10, that went into Saturday, 3-2, ending their 2025 season .
Free Press sports writer Andrew Birkle picks the winners and losers from the Tigers' heartbreaking loss.
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Winners
Tarik Skubal
Yes, 13 strikeouts is the most ever by a pitcher in a do-or-die playoff game, but Skubal's domination goes far beyond the numbers . The lone run scored off the soon-to-be two-time American League Cy Young winner came in the second inning when pesky Josh Naylor slapped a double down the left field line that looked like he barely could see it. He advanced to third on a weird steal, and then came home on a sacrifice fly. That was it. Skubal gave the Tigers every chance to win, but they couldn't capitalize. Story of the season.
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Kerry Carpenter
Speaking of players who did everything they could to help the Tigers win, Kerry Carpenter continues to grow his legend amongst Tigers fans. Carpenter was the hero of last year's ALDS matchup with the Cleveland Guardians when he crushed a home run in Game 2 in the ninth inning off closer Emmanuel Clase , then had a similar moment in Game 1 of the 2025 ALDS that helped the Tigers steal the opener off the Mariners.
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He couldn't do it again, right? Sure enough, he did, blasting a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth off lefty Gabe Speier , who was specifically brought in to face Carpenter. In Game 5, Carpenter finished 4-for-5 with two walks and the homer. Yes, he did his part too.
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Jorge Polanco
The hero of Game 2 for the Mariners was the hero of Game 5 as well. Polanco blasted two solo homers off Skubal in Game 2 that helped Seattle squeak out a 3-2 victory and on Friday, he finally, mercifully put an end to the series with a single to right field to win the game in the 15th inning, again 3-2. Seattle won all four starts by Skubal in 2025.
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Losers
All Tigers hitters besides Kerry Carpenter
Detroit Tigers left fielder Riley Greene watches Seattle Mariners players celebrate on the field as he exits after the Tigers' 3-2 loss in 15 innings, the longest winner-take-all MLB playoff game ever, of ALDS Game 5 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025.
Mr. Carpenter, take a bow. Everyone else can exit the stage, please. The Tigers had just eight hits over 15 innings and Carpenter accounted for half. As pointed out by Freep's Shawn Windsor , the Tigers' 2-3-4-5 hitters combined to go 0-for-23. Everyone not named Kerry Carpenter went 4-for-46, an average of .087. And somehow, it seemed worse watching the game. The Tigers had chance after chance after chance and just kept coming up short. Every. Single. Time. (The Mariners did, too.)
It's going to be a long offseason of questions about this lineup for president of baseball operations Scott Harris and the Tigers front office.
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Tigers fans
Thank God this game at least happened on a Friday night, so most fans didn't have to wake up early for work the next day. That might be the ONLY saving grace, because this was about as painful as it gets for playoff losses. This game had so many painful roller coaster rides of emotions, it was almost like it was designed to hurt the feelings of whichever team ended up losing. That was of course the Tigers, and it'll be a game that'll go down in the worst kinds of history as one you just can't forget. Sorry, Big Papi, you may no longer be responsible for the most painful Tigers loss this century .
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Andrew Birkle is an assistant sports editor for the Free Press. Contact him via email at abirkle@freepress.com or on "X" at andrew_birkle.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers heart of the order choked, shows why Scott Harris must upgrade
