DETROIT -- It’s all set up here for the Seattle Mariners now. They can punch their ticket to the franchise’s first American League Championship Series in a generation, they can rest before that round, and they can avoid a rematch with reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
All they’ve got to do is win Game 4 of the AL Division Series against the Tigers at Comerica Park on Wednesday afternoon.
And they’re putting their faith in Bryce Miller -- and a relatively rested bullpen -- to help make it happen.
After delaying the Game 4 starting decision until after the conclusion of their 8-4 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday night, Mariners manager Dan Wilson confirmed that the 27-year-old right-hander will make his first career postseason appearance.
Miller was amped for the opportunity.
"After the last two years of being so close and going home,” he said, “and, you know, watching the postseason from home and thinking, ‘I wish I was out there,’ it’ll be a lot of fun.”
The Mariners, up 2-1 in the best-of-five and a win away from going to the ALCS for the first time since 2001, are shorthanded in the rotation because of the late-season injury to Bryan Woo, who functioned as their ace in 2025 but has been dealing with inflammation in his right pectoral muscle that left him off the ALDS roster.
Miller, who dealt with bone spurs in his throwing elbow this year while pitching to a 5.68 ERA in 18 starts, was available out of the bullpen early in this series but was not utilized. The Mariners’ options boiled down to a rested Miller, a bullpen game or Game 1 starter George Kirby on short rest.
It’s possible -- maybe even likely -- that a loss in Game 3 would have compelled a different decision. But now it’s Miller’s chance to contribute to the cause.
This is also Miller’s chance to rewrite the narratives about his 2025 season. In 2024, his 2.94 ERA and 126 ERA+ (26 points above league average) in 31 starts had him looking like a star on the rise. But because of the pain in his elbow and the multiple IL stints it caused, he struggled to get on track this year.
"In the postseason, you start with a zero ERA, right?” Miller said. “My arm’s felt a lot better since I got off the IL. I found a way to basically manage the inflammation in there from the bone spurs and stuff. I haven’t pitched in 10 days, so I’ve had plenty of rest and I'm good to go.”
So is the bullpen.
Between Monday’s off-day, a looming off-day Thursday should the series go to a fifth game on Friday in Seattle and Logan Gilbert’s six innings of four-hit, one-run ball in Game 3, Wilson will be in a good place to manage Game 4 aggressively. Closer Andrés Muñoz had to be summoned to finish off Game 3 in a non-save situation, but the bullpen’s principal figures are all ready to rock.
“I think it's playoff time, and you've just got to be ready for anything,” Wilson said. “And these guys understand that.”
Of course, runs will help, too. The Mariners were able to force Tigers starter Jack Flaherty from Tuesday’s game by plating four runs before the end of the fourth inning. After two nip-and-tuck games back home, they got good at-bats up and down the lineup in Game 3, and they will look to keep that momentum going in the possible clincher.
"Yes, we hit a couple homers [in Game 3],” said Wilson, “which is great … but we also scored ‘conventionally’ -- getting some guys on base, using the middle of the field. … That’s what it takes. And when these guys do that, that's their more consistent offense.”
It’s gotten them this far. And now, on the cusp of a possible clinch, it’s Miller time.