Tigers complete late rally, Kevin McGonigle walk-off Mariners in 5-4 finish

Detroit scored the go-ahead runs in the bottom of the ninth, and Kevin McGonigle delivered a two-run walk-off single to give the Tigers a 5-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday at Comerica Park. Seattle led for much of the evening and appeared poised to protect a slim margin late, but a string of late miscues and bullpen changes turned a winnable game into a series setback. The loss also carried a familiar frustration for the Mariners, whose offense could not consistently turn momentum into insurance runs once Detroit tightened the game up.

Castillo’s start kept the Mariners close to the lead they built. Seattle struck first on Cole Young’s RBI single in the third inning, taking a 1-0 advantage. Detroit answered in the fourth when McGonigle connected for a solo home run off Castillo to tie the game at 1-1. From there, Seattle regained the initiative with a two-hit stretch in the sixth. Josh Naylor delivered an RBI double and Colt Emerson was hit by a pitch with runners on, allowing Naylor to score. Randy Arozarena then drove in another run in the seventh, pushing Seattle ahead 4-3 as the game entered its late innings.

Castillo was the exception for Seattle, pitching with control and patience through the sixth inning. One early indicator was how often the Mariners made productive contact in the middle innings, but the better story was that Castillo avoided damage until Detroit’s key swing. Castillo worked deep enough to stay in rhythm, leaning on his changeup heavily and generating weak contact, while also finishing with five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

The game shifted after Seattle built a three-run cushion. Detroit tagged Seattle’s bullpen with timely hits in the seventh, highlighted by Wenceel Pérez’s two-run triple into the deep right-field corner that narrowed the margin after runners reached and the Tigers produced when outs were scarce. Gabe Speier did keep the Mariners in front briefly by escaping trouble, but the Tigers never stopped pressuring the strike zone and converting on late opportunities.

In the ninth, Seattle had a chance to push the game out of reach but failed to cash in. The Mariners reached to start the frame, yet two momentum-killing baserunning plays followed, including Josh Naylor getting caught stealing and Randy Arozarena being picked off first base. With the game still within one run, Andrés Muñoz then walked two batters before allowing McGonigle’s walk-off single, erasing the lead Seattle had carried into the final frame.

The result also landed at a time when the Mariners were trying to stabilize outcomes in a tight interleague matchup. Detroit and Seattle entered the finale with the series even, and the Tigers used the last at-bat to swing the full weekend. Seattle’s execution gaps were on display across innings, from missed chances to extra pressure on late-inning arms, and Detroit made Seattle pay with a rally that was built more on situational baseball than spectacle. After the loss, the Mariners head out on the next portion of a long road trip.

For Seattle, the watch point is straightforward: protect leads by tightening the late-game fundamentals. Castillo gave the bullpen a platform, yet the offense could not consistently create separation when runners were on base, and the club’s late baserunning decisions put additional strain on its pitching. For Detroit, Sunday underlined how quickly a game can flip when the bottom of the order stays aggressive and turns bullpen volatility into runs, with McGonigle emerging as the final punch.