Detroit Tigers drop heartbreaker to Mariners, 4-3, after Ryan Vilade misses diving catch
Evan PetzoldRyan Vilade made a diving effort in right field.
He missed the ball.
The Detroit Tigers lost, 4-3, to the Seattle Mariners on a walk-off double that cleared the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday in the finale of a three-game series at T-Mobile Park. It was a heartbreaking ending to an otherwise impressive series.
"We lost, and it was a winnable game," manager A.J. Hinch told reporters in Seattle. "We were in a great position. We did virtually almost everything right tonight until the end. Obviously, it's tough to go from a near win to a loss in dramatic fashion. We worked hard to get that lead. We just couldn't make a play at the end."
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The bases were loaded with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning when Mitch Haniger smacked a two-strike fastball from right-handed reliever Will Vest into right field. The ball got past Vilade and rolled to the warning track. All three runners scored on the mistake from Vilade, ending the game.
The Tigers (55-61) failed to sweep the Mariners, but they won two of three games to begin their six-game West Coast trip, which continues Friday with the opener of a three-game set against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
The Tigers ran into trouble in the bottom of the ninth inning, only because Luke Raley opened the inning with a two-strike infield single off left-handed reliever Tyler Holton. The single that rolled down the third-base line brought the game-tying run to the plate.
That's when Vest replaced Holton.
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But Vest surrendered a full-count single to Randy Arozarena, putting runners on the corners. He responded by striking out consecutive batters, then walking Jorge Polanco on seven pitches — missing with the final two pitches — to load the bases.
Haniger made Vest pay for the walk with a ball in play, but Vilade should have recorded the final out despite a difficult a head-first dive in right field after running in on the ball.
"The key in that is getting off on the first step," Hinch said of Vilade's diving attempt. "It looked like he got a great break on it, and it looked like he had plenty of room to make the catch, and he just missed it. The result is tough to swallow."
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A three-run inning
Parker Meadows continues to help the Tigers.
He saved Wednesday's game with a clutch catch in center field to rob a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning. He also put the Tigers ahead, 1-0, in Thursday's game with an RBI double off right-hander Bryan Woo's middle-middle changeup in the fifth inning.
To open the fifth, Bligh Madris and Justyn-Henry Malloy delivered back-to-back singles. Before that, Woo had retired 12 batters in a row to begin his outing against the Tigers.
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The Tigers took advantage of their opportunity to tack on runs, as Zach McKinstry ripped a slider to right-center field, scoring both Malloy and Meadows for a 3-0 advantage.
McKinstry fell behind 0-2 in the count, but he fouled a pitch and refused to chase at a pair of two-strike fastballs to work a 2-2 count, which led to the slider he pulled into the alleyway.
The Tigers finished with five hits and two walks.
Last one out, first one in
Right-handed reliever Brenan Hanifee became the first Tigers pitcher to finish and start consecutive games since Steve Sparks in 2000. He recorded the final out in Wednesday's 6-2 win, then he set the tone for a group of four relievers in Thursday's bullpen-only game.
The Tigers used four relievers, in this order: Hanifee for two innings, left-hander Bryan Sammons for 4⅓ innings, Holton for 1⅔ innings and Vest for two outs in the bottom of the ninth before the Mariners' walk-off single spoiled a solid performance from the bullpen.
One of the most impressive innings occurred in the fourth.
Sammons — a 29-year-old making the third appearance of his MLB career — worked out of a jam. A walk and a single had two runners on base with one out, but Sammons struck out Justin Turner and Polanco to escape without any damage.
Both Turner and Polanco struck out swinging on fastballs.
The Mariners scored their first run in the sixth inning, cutting the Tigers' lead to 3-1. Raley, who drew the fourth-inning walk, hit Sammons' middle-middle cutter for a solo home run. After that, Sammons sent down the next two batters to wrap up the sixth.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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