Jorge Polanco’s 2 home runs help Mariners take Game 2 of ALDS, even series against Tigers

“Jorge, Jorge, Jorge” reverberated throughout the ballpark, which was occupied by a whopping 47,371 patrons that witnessed Seattle’s first home playoff win since Oct. 15, 2001, against Cleveland.

“Well, when we’ve got a crowd like that that’s supporting us,” Polanco said, “it’s easy for us to go out there.”

Despite the magnitude of his performance — Polanco became the fourth Mariners player with a multi-homer game in the postseason, joining Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner, who all accomplished the feat in 1995 —- he described an approach in the batter’s box that perfectly encapsulated his calm demeanor.

“I came up there just trying to get a good pitch to hit,” Polanco said. “Just hit to the middle of the field and put it straight on.”

That method worked out in a big way for Polanco, just as it often did throughout a bounce-back season. Nearly a year ago to the date, Polanco underwent surgery to repair his left patellar tendon. And in November, the Mariners declined his $12 million option, only to bring him back for the discounted rate of $7 million for one season.

Last year, Polanco played through injury and put up pedestrian numbers relative to his career averages. In his first season in Seattle, Polanco hit just .213 with a career-low .651 OPS.

“We all knew what he was going through, and we all had his back,” teammate Julio Rodríguez said. “We also knew how much he cared about the team last year. And just to see him, like, kind of going through and showing up every single day, he inspired me a lot, I’ve got to say, just in the way that he went about his business. You could tell how much he actually wanted to play.”

In 2025, though, Polanco hasn’t just been available, but impactful. He mashed 26 home runs this season, the second-most of his career, and started playing the field more frequently in the second half of the season, too.

“That’s why I’m so happy for him this year, that he’s been more healthy, more on the field,” Rodríguez said. “I know he’s put in a lot of work, and I’m so, so happy that he’s having success again and enjoying the game of baseball that he loves.”

Adoration was in the air for Polanco all evening on Sunday, and especially following each of his home runs off Skubal. The first long ball came on a slider, and the latter off Skubal’s scintillating sinker – not that Polanco was sitting on either pitch.

“I didn’t know what was coming,” Polanco said. “Like I said, I just have a good approach, stay to the middle so I can recognize the second that it starts.”

Polanco’s heroics were critical to the Mariners not completely squandering their home-field advantage, as they will instead head to Detroit needing to take just one of two games to force a winner-take-all Game 5 back in Seattle.

As much as players like Rodríguez, AL MVP candidate Cal Raleigh and other Mariners have drawn ample attention this season, it was Polanco who stood a cut above like only a handful of franchise greats have in postseason play.

“All I can say is I’m really happy that he’s our teammate and he’s playing for us,” Rodríguez said. “He can do what he did tonight for us, and it’s pretty unbelievable.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb