SEATTLE (AP) — Shortly after Jorge Polanco’s second home run of the game off reigning AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal, a chant broke out from a smattering of Mariners fans at T-Mobile Park.
It was resemblant of the familiar soccer chant, “Olé, Olé, Olé″, except the Seattle supporters were repeating Polanco’s first name after he put the Mariners up 2-0 en route to a 3-2 win against the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of their AL Division Series on Sunday to even the series.
“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
Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco, right, celebrates with first base coach Eric Young Jr. after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco reacts after hitting a single during the eighth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco watches the ball after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Voting began Thursday in Uganda’s presidential election despite a days-long internet shutdown that has been criticized as an anti-democratic tactic in a country where the president has held office since 1986.
Crowds gathered and long lines formed in some areas as polling station openings were delayed and voting materials were seen being delivered after the scheduled 7 a.m. opening time.
President Yoweri Museveni, 81, faces seven other candidates, including Robert Kyagulanyi, a musician-turned-politician best known as Bobi Wine, who is calling for political change.
The East African country of roughly 45 million people has 21.6 million registered voters. Polls are expected to close at 4 p.m. Thursday, according to the electoral commission. Results are constitutionally required to be announced in 48 hours.
Impatient crowds gathered outside polling stations expressing concerns over the delays Thursday morning. Umaru Mutyaba, a polling agent for a parliamentary candidate, said it was “frustrating” to be waiting outside a station in the capital Kampala.
“We can’t be standing here waiting to vote as if we have nothing else to do," he said.
Ssemujju Nganda, a prominent opposition figure and lawmaker seeking reelection in Kira municipality, told The Associated Press he had been waiting in line to vote for three hours.
In addition to delayed voting materials, biometric voter identification machines were not working properly, Nganda said, adding that delays likely will lead to apathy and low turnout in urban areas where the opposition has substantial support.
“It’s going to be chaos,” he said.
Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.
Museveni has served the third-longest term of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. Some critics say removing him through elections remains difficult, but the aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Museveni and Wine are reprising their rivalry from the previous election in 2021, when Wine appealed to mostly young people in urban areas. With voter turnout of 59%, Wine secured 35% of the ballots against Museveni’s 58%, the president’s smallest vote share since his first electoral campaign three decades ago.
The lead-up to Thursday's election produced concerns about transparency, the possibility of hereditary rule, military interference and opposition strategies to prevent vote tampering at polling stations.
Uganda's internet was shut down Tuesday by the government communications agency, which cited misinformation, electoral fraud and incitement of violence. The shutdown has affected the public and disrupted critical sectors such as banking.
There has been heavy security leading up to voting, including military units deployed on the streets this week.
Amnesty International said security forces are engaging in a “brutal campaign of repression,” citing a Nov. 28 opposition rally in eastern Uganda where the military blocked exits and opened fire on supporters, killing one person.
Museveni urged voters to come out in large numbers during his final rally Tuesday.
“You go and vote, anybody who tries to interfere with your freedom will be crushed. I am telling you this. We are ready to put an end to this indiscipline,” he said.
The national electoral commission chairperson, Simon Byabakama, urged tolerance among Ugandans as they vote.
“Let us keep the peace that we have,” Byabakama said late Wednesday. “Let us be civil. Let us be courteous. Let’s be tolerant. Even if you know that this person does not support (your) candidate, please give him or her room or opportunity to go and exercise his or her constitutional right."
Authorities also suspended the activities of several civic groups during the campaign season. That Group, a prominent media watchdog, closed its office Wednesday after the interior ministry alleged in a letter that the group was involved in activities “prejudicial to the security and laws of Uganda.”
Veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, remains in prison after he was charged with treason in February 2025.
Uganda opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known as Bobi Wine, right, greets election observers, including former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, at his home in Magere village on the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)
Billboards of Uganda President and National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni are seen in Kampala, Uganda, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Samson Otieno)
Electoral workers deliver ballot boxes to a polling station during presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Voters are reflected in a police officer's sunglasses as they wait in line after voting failed to start on time due to system failures during presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Voters wait to cast their ballots during the presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
