Going into Game 4 of the ALDS, the feeling was that if the Detroit Tigers could somehow luck into a win, not even Game 5 Tarik Skubal could save their season unless the offense woke up in a big way. But then they did, outscoring the Seattle Mariners 9-3 in Game 4, and the hope crept back in.
The narrative around Skubal versus the Mariners took shape as soon as Jorge Polanco hit his second homer of the night off of him in Game 2. Skubal still went seven innings and those were the only runs he allowed, but the Tigers still lost.