If the ALDS is about pressure points, this matchup is as clean as it gets: Detroit’s front-line run prevention against a Seattle club that’s learned how to turn thin margins into wins. The Mariners earned home-field advantage and the right to script the series on their terms in front of a raucous T-Mobile Park crowd.
That matters, not just for atmosphere, but for matchups, for forcing Detroit to navigate leverage pockets without the last at-bat. For all the noise of October, this one reduces to a simple question: Can Seattle disrupt Detroit’s run-prevention machine?
Mariners look to turn Tarik Skubal mortal and seize ALDS momentum
Plenty of Mariners fans quietly preferred Cleveland in the Wild Card draw, and you can see why.