The Seattle Mariners fell to the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night, 3-2, in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on a Julio Rodriguez home run, but then Kerry Carpenter took it right back with a two-run home run in the fifth inning to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
Rodriguez came through again in the sixth inning with a game-tying RBI single, and the two teams went into extra innings. Then, Zach McKinstry scratched across an RBI single in the 11th inning to give the Tigers a Game 1 victory.
Game 1 Revealed Major Mariners Flaw
The Mariners collected six hits in the game, but they all came from just two players. You can probably guess who those two players were.
Catcher Cal Raleigh and Rodriguez each had three hits a piece in the Mariners loss, but the rest of the team went hitless.
Those two star did produce two runs for the Mariners, and some nights that may be enough with Seattle’s elite pitching staff. However, that’s not the number you want to rely on in the postseason.
Julio Rodriguez hits his first career postseason home run! pic.twitter.com/P3YsjGEg64
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 5, 2025
Mariners hitters not named Raleigh or Rodriguez on Saturday night went 0-28 with seven strikeouts.
Producing hits and runs has been the Mariners achilles heel for the last few years, but this season had been different.
Seattle had gotten production from other guys in the lineup like Randy Arozarena, Jorge Polanco, J.P. Crawford and Dominic Canzone, and then traded for Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez.
The @Tigers stun the Mariners in Game 1! 🐅 pic.twitter.com/6AUhoPhHK8
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 5, 2025
The Mariners had four guys other than their big two hitting above .260 with OPS’ averaging just below .800 during the regular season.
If the Mariners want to advance past the Tigers in the ALDS and make a deep postseason run, they’re going to have to get production around their big two in Raleigh and Rodriguez.
