Why Mariners’ Josh Naylor thought Tigers hit him with pitch on purpose

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Why Mariners’ Josh Naylor thought Tigers hit him with pitch on purpose

Michael Whitaker, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Sun, Jun 7, 2026 ·

2 min read

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Why Mariners' Josh Naylor thought Tigers hit him with pitch on purpose appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

On Saturday afternoon, the Seattle Mariners ended the four-game winning streak of the Detroit Tigers with a 4-0 shutout win at Comerica Park.

The victory was in large part thanks to a tremendous performance on the mound from Mariners starter Bryce Miller , who allowed only a single hit in six total innings of work on the mound.

Meanwhile, Dominic Canzone drove in two runs, while a two-run double from Randy Arozarena helped Seattle build up their lead to 3-0. But there was a controversial moment during the game in which Tigers pitcher Keider Montero plunked Seattle's Josh Naylor with a 96 MPH fastball off the shoulder in the bottom of the fifth inning after Seattle increased their lead to 4-0.

According to Montero, he wasn't intentionally throwing at Naylor, who said he thinks it was absolutely on purpose.

"I was trying to get him out real quick on the first pitch, Montero said via Jason Beck on X, formerly known as Twitter. "It was a sinker in, and it moved in a little bit and got him."

Naylor did not see it the same way, saying that he saw Tigers pitcher Framber Valdez pointing and laughing at the incident.

"[Framber] Valdez was pointing and laughing at me on the bench, so I knew it was on purpose," Naylor said via Jason Beck on X.

The two teams, who faced one another in the 2025 American League Divisional Series, will conclude their series on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park. The Tigers will be sending Jack Flaherty to the mound, and he'll be facing Mariners RHP Luis Castillo . The first pitch is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. ET.

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