On a Sunday night when the Seattle Mariners needed someone, anyone, outside the headliners to punch back in Game 2 of the ALDS, Jorge Polanco answered with the kind of plate appearances that can tilt a postseason. T-Mobile Park had been tight, waiting for a crack in Tarik Skubal’s armor, and the Tigers’ ace wasn’t offering much. Then Polanco stepped in and brought the place to a boil, turning a chess match of pitch-to-pitch adjustments into the loudest swings of the series.
This is exactly why contenders preach depth all summer. The Mariners have the MVP chatter at catcher and a center fielder fresh off a second 30–30 season, but October belongs to the role players who win knife fights in the zone.