Kevin McGonigle’s late power and walkoff single lift Tigers over Mariners, 5-4

At Comerica Park on Sunday, June 7, 2026, the Detroit Tigers took down the Seattle Mariners 5-4 when rookie Kevin McGonigle delivered a two-run walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth. The finish capped a game that swung repeatedly, with Detroit always chasing an extra run and Seattle repeatedly threatening to turn late contact into a win. McGonigle also supplied the turning point earlier, homering to tie the game, and then coming back at the end to deliver the kind of at-bat the Tigers have lacked in close margins.

The scoring started in the third when Colt Young singled to drive in a run off Detroit starter Jack Flaherty, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, McGonigle answered quickly, launching a solo home run, his fourth of the season, to tie it at 1-1. From there, the Mariners took back the lead in the sixth on Josh Naylor’s RBI double, pushing Seattle in front 2-1.

Detroit clawed back into it as the game moved on, and the seventh proved pivotal. With the Tigers trailing by a run late, Seattle’s lead did not hold. Wenceel Pérez turned the tide by delivering a triple that plated two runs, a swing that flipped the leverage in Detroit’s favor even as the Mariners continued to grind for more.

By the ninth, Detroit’s margin for error was razor thin. Seattle had the lead entering the frame and had to protect it, but baserunning miscues slowed the Mariners’ attempt to cash in. According to the game account, Will Vest was on the mound for Detroit in the top of the ninth, and Seattle “ran themselves into” two unproductive outs on the bases, leaving the Mariners short of the insurance run they needed.

That set the stage for the walkoff. In the bottom of the ninth, McGonigle’s path to the winning hit began with traffic against Andrés Muñoz. The late setup included back-to-back free passes and a tense sequence that left the Tigers with runners on and the lineup turned over. Muñoz eventually walked the eighth and ninth hitters before giving up the decisive hit, and McGonigle made him pay with a two-run single into right field to send the home crowd out as winners.

McGonigle’s impact was not just the final swing. Fox Sports’ box score line had him going 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs, a walk, and a strikeout, underlining how the rookie’s two biggest swings came at the most important moments. The Tigers have emphasized his quick rise since his big-league debut, and MLB reported Detroit agreed to an eight-year extension covering 2027-2034 earlier in the season, a reflection of how the organization values what he is starting to show in-game.

For Seattle, the loss landed in the same place that has hurt it in close finishes, late execution. The Mariners built a lead and carried it into the ninth, but they failed to convert momentum when they had chances to add cushion, and then they suffered the kind of back-end collapse Detroit needed. The immediate watch is how Seattle bounces back after a walkoff loss that started with a strong lead but ended with baserunning and bullpen control breaking down.

Detroit now has a signature win to lean on in a season where the Tigers have often had to fight for leverage rather than seize it early. On a day when McGonigle changed the game twice, the message was clear: when the Tigers get runners on late, their rookie has shown he can turn a moment into a finish.