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MLB playoffs roundup: Tigers showing their teeth in postseason

AP photo by Lindsey Wasson / Spencer Torkelson heads home to score the go-ahead run for the Detroit Tigers off of a single by Zach McKinstry during the 11th inning of Game 1 of their AL Division Series against the host Seattle Mariners on Saturday.
AP photo by Lindsey Wasson / Spencer Torkelson heads home to score the go-ahead run for the Detroit Tigers off of a single by Zach McKinstry during the 11th inning of Game 1 of their AL Division Series against the host Seattle Mariners on Saturday. AP photo by Lindsey Wasson / Spencer Torkelson heads home to score the go-ahead run for the Detroit Tigers off of a single by Zach McKinstry during the 11th inning of Game 1 of their AL Division Series against the host Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

By The Associated Press 11 min read

SEATTLE — Zach McKinstry was banking on Carlos Vargas throwing him a sinker.

Good guess. Good swing. And, with a little help from the bullpen after that, good night.

McKinstry singled home the tiebreaking run with two outs in the top of 11th inning, and the sixth-seeded Detroit Tigers outlasted the second-seeded Seattle Mariners for a 3-2 victory in Game 1 of their American League Division Series on Saturday.

Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run homer in the fifth for the resurgent Tigers, who squandered a huge lead in the AL Central Division and nearly collapsed entirely down the stretch before squeezing into the playoffs at the end of the regular season last weekend.

And now, after winning their best-of-three AL Wild Card Series hosted at midweek by the Cleveland Guardians — who finished one game ahead of the second-place Tigers in the Central — they can take a commanding 2-0 lead on the road in this best-of-five matchup against AL West champion Seattle with dominant ace Tarik Skubal on the mound Sunday.