MLB Playoffs: Mariners tee off on Tigers after rain delay, move 1 win away from berth in ALCS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tuesday started with a rain delay in Detroit, and the clouds never lifted for Tigers fans.

The Seattle Mariners struck first in a sloppy third inning for the Detroit defense and never looked back in an 8-4 Game 3 win in the ALDS.

With the win, the Mariners take a 2-1 series lead and re-seize the home-field advantage they yielded with a Game 1 loss in Seattle. The Mariners can clinch the best-of-five series with a Game 4 win in Detroit on Wednesday or a Game 5 win at home Friday afternoon.

Tuesday's win was a complete team effort that sucked the life out of the Detroit crowd early.

Ace start from Logan Gilbert

Starter Logan Gilbert was on cruise control on the mound in six four-hit innings. Detroit mounted just one challenge to the scoreboard off Gilbert and needed a bad relay off a would-be double play ball to plate a run in the fifth on a fielder's choice.

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Outside of that, Gilbert was dominant. He struck out seven and walked none on 85 efficient pitches through six innings. Seattle's bullpen kept the Tigers off the board from there until Caleb Ferguson yielded three more runs in the ninth.

But the late Tigers rally fizzled when closer Andres Muñoz took the mound to close out the win.

Big Dumper, Mariners bats tee off

Seattle's bats, meanwhile, put pressure on Detroit throughout the night. They chased starter Jack Flaherty after 3 1/3 innings and ended the fourth with a 4-0 lead. Victor Robles got the party started in the third with a leadoff double and came around to score on a J.P. Crawford single and error by Detroit.

That sparked a two-run third before Eugenio Suárez launched a towering solo shot in the fourth to extend the lead to 3-0. Cal Raleigh capped the onslaught with his first home run of the postseason in the ninth. 

J.P. Crawford added a solo shot in between as the Tigers tallied three home runs on the night. And a drenched Detroit home crowd never had a chance celebrate the Tigers' first home game of the postseason.

They're left to hope for a better show on Wednesday in Game 4 (3:08 p.m. ET, FS1).