The Seattle Mariners, after losing Game 1 of the ALDS to the Detroit Tigers, were in a dire spot for Game 2. With the eventual 2025 AL Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal, on the mound for the Tigers, the Mariners were in danger of going down 0-2 in the ALDS.
Fortunately, the Mariners got some perfectly timed heroics, with Julio Rodriguez's game-winning double late to score Cal Raleigh in a tie game. But, before getting to that point, the Mariners needed another of their players to do something that hasn't been done in four years.
As Jon Morosi of MLB Network mentioned, Jorge Polanco, who hit two solo shots off Skubal to give the Mariners two of their three runs, was a feat not achieved since 2021. Polanco's incredible day came right when the Mariners needed it, and helped them secure a must-win game to even the series before heading to Detroit.
Jorge Polanco is the first player since 2021 to hit two home runs off Tarik Skubal in any game
Polanco, with his two solo home runs, became the first player since Paul Goldschmidt on August 25th of 2021 to hit two homers off Skubal in any game.
Jorge Polanco is the first @MLB player in more than 4 years with a 2-homer game vs. Tarik Skubal, regular season or postseason.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 6, 2025
Last time: Paul Goldschmidt on Aug. 25, 2021.@MLBNetwork
Skubal is one of the most dominant pitchers in the game today, and his performance during Game 2 was stellar once more. Except Polanco got to him twice, hitting two home runs to give the Mariners enough offense to stay in the game.
Even when the Tigers came back, they only tied the game instead of taking the lead. While Rodriguez's go-ahead hit in the eighth inning was the deciding moment of the game, Polanco's two homers off Skubal were the difference in a win and a loss.
More: Mariners' Julio Rodriguez joins Alex Rodriguez in Seattle franchise home run history
In Polanco's two games this postseason, he's had three hits, with all coming in Game 2 to secure a much-needed win over the Tigers. Hitting two home runs in a playoff game is already noteworthy, but to do it off one of the best pitchers in Skubal, who allowed just 18 home runs all year, is even more remarkable.
But what makes this performance even more impressive is that the last time Skubal allowed two home runs in one game, in the 2021 season, was just his second in the Majors. He had a 4.34 ERA and an 8-12 record, still far from the player he would go on to become.
The 2024 Cy Young winner, and likely 2025 Cy Young winner, hasn't allowed a hitter to have two homers off him in over 100 starts since Goldschmidt's two-homer day. He had a 2.21 ERA this season, which led all American League pitchers.
In his career, only four hitters have hit two homers in a single game off Skubal. Polanco joined Goldschmidt in 2021, and Pedro Severino of the Baltimore Orioles and Jorge Soler in July of 2021 as the only hitters to have two home runs off Skubal in a game.
Polanco chose a great time to have a massive performance for the Mariners. He was a huge reason for the Mariners winning Game 2 of the ALDS and having a chance to move on to the ALCS.
Getting past the Skubal start with a win is a huge advantage for the Mariners, and now if they can capitalize on Jack Flaherty and the rest of the Tigers' iffy rotation, they can move on to the ALCS and face either the Toronto Blue Jays or the New York Yankees with a chance to advance to the World Series.
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