Akil Baddoo’s pinch-hit double in the 10th inning gave the Detroit Tigers a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.
“This is a really great win,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “It is fun to see the adrenaline in our clubhouse.”
The teams faced each other for the fifth time in eight days. The Tigers had previously won two out of three games in Seattle and defeated the Mariners 15-1 on Tuesday night.
“This one hurts,” said Mariners manager Scott Servais. “We know the Tigers are playing well after what they’ve done to us, but we had control of the game and couldn’t finish it off.”
Detroit was down 2-0 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Matt Vierling hit a double off Yimi Garcia, and Kerry Carpenter connected for his third home run in two games to tie the game. Carpenter, who had returned from the injured list before Tuesday’s game, had struck out in his first three at-bats.
“They had done a really good job against me, but I had faced Garcia before,” Carpenter said. “I got a fastball that I knew I could drive.”
Tyler Holton (5-1) kept Seattle scoreless in the top of the 10th, and Collin Snider (2-2) walked Justyn-Henry Malloy to start the bottom of the inning. Zach McKinstry struck out while trying to bunt, but Baddoo, hitting for Jake Rogers, connected with a deep fly ball over Victor Robles to win the game.
“It is great to know these guys trust me to come through in a situation like that,” Baddoo said.
Mariners starter Bryan Woo allowed four singles and didn’t issue a walk in seven scoreless innings. He has faced the Tigers twice in seven days, not earning a decision in either game despite allowing three runs in 13 2/3 innings.
Seattle closer Andrés Muñoz pitched a perfect ninth inning to set a franchise record with 12 consecutive hitless outings.
With only two healthy starting pitchers, the Tigers have had to rely on their bullpen to cover nine innings multiple times a week. Beau Brieske started against the Mariners before Bryan Sammons took over in the second inning.
