The Seattle Mariners powered past the Detroit Tigers on the road to take a 2-1 lead in the American League Division Series. Home runs speckled the play-by-play as the bats of Seattle provided a firework display of their own in the Motor City.
Logan Gilbert was exceptional, once again, allowing just one run through six innings to give way to the revitalized and simply explosive offense in the dugout. Victor Robles capitalized on a loose heave to home plate to evaporate the scoring seal in the third, and the following inning, Eugenio Suarez rode the wave to eject the ball into the stands. JP Crawford stole the Tigers' souls with a solo shot of his own.
Then, in the eighth inning, up to the dish stepped Cal Raleigh. Wood met the pitch as he launched his 61st home run of the 2025 season to drive the M's lead to an 8-1 advantage.
The broadcast was absolutely hijacked at this moment by something otherworldly in the crowd.
Dressed in green, a fan snatched the bouncing homer into his awaiting glove. Both fists in the air, this Mariners fan celebrated the MVP candidate's MLB-leading home run lead extend to a total of 61.
Sixty-one; the exact number in big block letters on his chest. This fan's t-shirt read "dump 61 here", and Big Dumper delivered. The perfect home run to the perfect spot -- this fan couldn't have called it any better. He predicted the catcher's 61st shot of the year.
Despite this homer arriving in the top of the ninth inning, the fan removed his shirt to reveal one more shirt beneath.
"Dump 62 here" it read.
His faith in the Mariners reflects the buzz surrounding the team at large. Something feels different about this year's bunch from Seattle. One of baseball's historically beaten-down franchises, the Mariners have never reached the World Series at any point in their history. But this year feels different.
As Seattle reclaimed control of the series, hope has been restored that this year's team has enough to make a championship push.
The Mariners and Tigers face off again on Wednesday for a potentially-clinching game four.
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