McGonigle’s clutch – Kevin McGonigle homered in the fourth and delivered the decisive two-out ninth-inning single off Andrés Muñoz as the Detroit Tigers rallied to beat the Seattle Mariners 5-4 on Sunday.
DETROIT — Kevin McGonigle’s bat came alive twice in the same game, but the last time turned a one-run stand into a celebration.
In the bottom of the ninth, with Detroit trailing and two outs already recorded, McGonigle lined a single off the glove of leaping second baseman Cole Young. The hit scored the Tigers’ winning run and sent them to a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.
Detroit’s climb started earlier, when Wenceel Pérez tripled home two runs in the seventh to begin the comeback from a 4-1 deficit. Seattle had built that lead with momentum and precision, but it couldn’t hold it when the Tigers kept turning runners into pressure.
Muñoz, the Seattle All-Star closer, got the opener he wanted in the ninth by striking out Spencer Torkelson. Then the night shifted. Muñoz walked Zach McKinstry and Pérez, and both moved into scoring position after Matt Vierling hit a groundout. That set the stage for McGonigle to deliver again. this time with a single that slipped through the infield and into the space Young couldn’t reach.
Will Vest pitched a scoreless inning for the win as Detroit completed the comeback and ultimately took two of three games in the series.
Before the dramatic ninth, McGonigle had already left his mark on Seattle starter Luis Castillo. A 420-foot homer off Castillo in the fourth tied the game at 1, and it was the kind of spark that changed the feel of the afternoon.
Seattle’s offense struck first in the third. Colt Emerson doubled off Tigers starter Jack Flaherty to begin the inning, then scored on Young’s one-out single to make it 1-0.
Detroit couldn’t find its footing early in the middle innings. In the sixth, Julio Rodríguez singled and later scored on a double by Josh Naylor to put the Mariners up 2-1. Flaherty’s day ended after he walked Randy Arozarena. He allowed three runs and six hits in five-plus innings.
Drew Sommers took over and immediately felt the weight of bases-loaded contact—hitting Emerson with a bases-loaded pitch to extend the lead to 3-1. Kyle Finnegan then entered and retired Jhonny Peralta on a lineout to center field to end the inning.
The margin widened in the seventh. Rodríguez walked with one out, stole second and third, and scored on Arozarena’s two-out single off Finnegan for a 4-1 lead. But Seattle’s control slipped right after that.
Pérez erased the breathing room in the bottom of the seventh with the two-run triple. setting off the kind of sequence that forces a late-game plan to unravel. Seattle failed to get an out after Pérez’s hit—Cooper Criswell surrendered the triple and couldn’t finish the inning. Gabe Speier retired Vierling on a pinch-hit grounder to third. and McGonigle followed with a shallow fly to left before striking out Gleyber Torres to keep things at 4-3.
Seattle had been riding confidence, with homers in nine straight games, but Detroit found a way to win without needing another long ball in the end. It was the ninth-inning hit—made possible by walks, a groundout, and McGonigle’s timing—that decided it.
Looking ahead. Mariners RHP Emerson Hancock (4-2. 2.80 ERA) starts Monday in Baltimore to begin a four-game series with the Orioles. who had not announced a starting pitcher. The Tigers then turn to Troy Melton. with Melton (2-0. 1.74 ERA) set to pitch Tuesday to open a three-game series with the visiting Twins. who will start RHP Taj Bradley (5-2. 3.56).
Detroit Tigers Seattle Mariners Kevin McGonigle Andrés Muñoz Wenceel Pérez Luis Castillo Jack Flaherty Will Vest Julio Rodríguez Josh Naylor