Mariners vs Tigers: Raley hits two bombs, Castillo fans nine, Magic Mitch at it again

Best Pitcher: Luis Castillo

6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K

Castillo earned his 16th quality start of the year, taking some damage on the way but keeping it reasonable. He had 13 whiffs, five of which came against his slider, and 18 called strikes, eight of which were also on his slider. It's a great pitch and has a whiff rate of 34.6% with an opposing batting average of just .195, the best numbers of any weapon in his arsenal.

His sinker and changeup haven't been as effective this season, both having negative run values overall, but with similar tunnels and movement, they're great when deployed in tandem.

Honorable Mention: Bryan Woo

6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Like Castillo, Woo gave up a few earned runs but he did enough to maintain a quality start while pitching more than six innings for just the second time since June 6th. He had six whiffs on his four-seam fastball and eight called strikes on his changeup and sinker combined.

Best Moment: Mitch walks it off for a franchise-record eighth time

For a player with below-average offensive numbers this year, Haniger seems to show up a lot in the biggest moments. His OPS in "high-leverage" situations (according to Baseball Reference) is just .616 but he seems to be making highlight after highlight.

With the Tigers attempting to complete a three-game sweep, they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning. Luke Raley's home run scored the first run for the Mariners but they were still down by two runs heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.

Luke Raley and Randy Arozarena led off the inning with back-to-back singles before Cal Raleigh and Justin Turner both struck out. With Randy as the go-ahead runner and the game on the line, Mitch Haniger stepped up to the plate. He fell behind, ending up in a 1-2 count. After a 97 mph fastball to the outside half of the zone, Haniger poked it to right field. Tigers right fielder Ryan Vilade attempted to make a catch but he fell short, allowing the ball to get behind him and a speedy Randy to round third and come home, sealing the win.

The first two games weren't pretty. The Tigers aren't postseason contenders and even with assets like Tarik Skubal and Riley Greene (who is currently injured), they aren't considered formidable opponents, six games behind .500 and fourth in the AL Central. However, the strong ending can hopefully be an important catalyst for the final series of the homestand against the New York Mets.