SEATTLE -- The Tigers and Mariners are fighting for their postseason chances, one selling at Monday’s Trade Deadline, the other buying. They still have time to rekindle a rivalry that percolated during last season’s AL Division Series and took on new intensity two months ago in Detroit.
On a night when Bryan Woo became the first Major League pitcher in four years to toss seven scoreless innings while hitting three batters, benches cleared Wednesday when Gabe Speier -- the first reliever out of Seattle’s 'pen -- hit Gleyber Torres in the eighth inning.
No punches were thrown, but Speier was ejected, as was Mariners manager Dan Wilson. The fracas, and the dueling home runs after, put a little spice into a 4-2 Tigers loss that ended Detroit’s four-game winning streak and set up an interesting series finale Thursday afternoon.
None of Woo’s hit-by-pitches were particularly damaging. Tigers rookie Max Clark took a hit off his elbow guard leading off the third inning, and Riley Greene and Zach McKinstry were hit on back-foot breaking balls in the fourth and fifth. McKinstry’s hit-by-pitch was awarded on replay review.
Woo stranded all of them, becoming the first MLB pitcher to hit three batters over seven scoreless innings since San Diego’s Yu Darvish on June 7, 2022. He put Seattle in position to take the lead on a Julio Rodríguez three-run homer in the sixth. Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh was hit in the ribs by a 94 mph fastball from lefty reliever Enmanuel De Jesus on a 1-2 count leading off the bottom of the seventh.
“We're trying to throw up and in all series to Cal. We don't try to hit anybody,” Tigers catcher Eduardo Valencia said. “De Jesus is trying to do his job, trying to get outs. He just missed the ball, and that's it. We don't try to hit anybody.”
Speier replaced Woo for the eighth and retired his first two batters before throwing back-to-back fastballs inside to Torres, who backed away from the first and had no chance of getting away from the second.
“I guess they protected Raleigh,” Torres said. “I don't think we hit Raleigh on purpose. But that's baseball. That's their guy and I know they try to protect him.”
Torres immediately had words with Raleigh, who stood up and faced him as manager A.J. Hinch tried to pull Torres away.
“I don't have any issues, and I don't tell any wrong thing to Raleigh,” Torres said. “I just told him I don't really believe we hit him on purpose. I also, before the at-bat, asked how he was doing. Hit-by-pitches are never fun. And when they hit me, I just tried to tell him, 'De Jesus hit you with two strikes. Wasn't on purpose.'
“I don't try to fight with nobody. I'm not that type of guy. It is what it is. It's all good.”
The ball hit Torres about midway up his left quad. As hit-by-pitches go, he appreciated the spot.
“It got me good, but I feel like it's kind of professional,” he said. “Don't try to hit me in my face or anything like that, just a good enough part of my body. I'm good, no problem.”
Whether or not Torres meant to escalate tensions, they boiled over quickly. Both teams cleared the dugouts, and relievers sprinted in from the bullpens as coaches tried to keep the sides separated.
“I think the back-to-back pitches in a weird spot to Gleyber, one of them smoking him, created a lot of emotions,” Hinch said. “We all end up on the field, umpires met and deemed it intentional enough to throw him out. I know it came right after Cal got smoked, which is what makes it a little uncomfortable for everybody.”
It also comes two months after a contentious series in Detroit that included a hit-by-pitch to Josh Naylor, who took a 96 mph fastball from Keider Montero off his back. Naylor had collided with Kevin McGonigle at first base to open that series, then seemingly tossed his sliding mitt at catcher Dillon Dingler on his way into home plate the next day. Naylor slid hard into second base after that hit-by-pitch.
“I really believe whatever happened at home with Naylor and everything, I think they just got feelings before,” Torres said. “But this is baseball, and I don't have any issues. Like I said, they protect Raleigh, and that's what it is. I'm good.”
The umpires conferred for a couple of minutes before deciding to eject Speier, prompting Wilson to run out of the dugout and argue. Speier may have been pulled with the right-handed Dingler on deck, but the ejection sets up a potential suspension.
“It's always frustrating when your guy's the guy that gets thrown out. ... Their guy hits somebody and there's no consequences,” Wilson said.
Eduard Bazardo replaced Speier and gave up a two-run homer to straightaway center, which Dingler watched clear the fence to bring the Tigers within a run. Colt Emerson added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning, homering off De Jesus and tossing his bat in celebration before rounding the bases.
One reason Naylor believed he was hit on purpose was that he saw Framber Valdez laughing in the Tigers' dugout. Valdez is set to start on Thursday in their first meeting since then. The Tigers have kept Naylor quiet so far this series, holding him to an 0-for-6 line with a walk.