Polanco hits winning single in the 15th inning as the Mariners beat the Tigers to advance to ALCS

SEATTLE (AP) — Jorge Polanco hit a game-ending single in the 15th inning, and the Seattle Mariners advanced to the AL Championship Series by outlasting the Detroit Tigers for a 3-2 victory Friday night in the longest winner-take-all postseason game in baseball history.

With one out and the bases loaded, Polanco drove in J.P. Crawford with a liner to right on a full-count changeup from Tommy Kahnle. Crawford held his arms in the air as he touched home plate while the Mariners poured out of the dugout to celebrate in front of a frenzied crowd of 47,025.

Crawford hit a leadoff single, Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch and Julio Rodríguez was intentionally walked before Polanco's big swing on the 472nd pitch of an epic Game 5 that clocked in at 4 hours, 58 minutes.

It was the third one-run game — all with a 3-2 score — in a tightly contested AL Division Series.

“I know we played a long game, but this team never gave up,” Polanco said. “I know there is a lot of emotion, but we are always trying to keep it simple. I’m just trying to go out there and play and trying to get the win.”

The Mariners left 12 runners on base and still managed to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2001. Next up is a matchup with the AL East champion Blue Jays, beginning on Sunday night at Toronto.

“Just an incredible ballgame from top to bottom,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

Luis Castillo pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win in his first major league relief appearance. Logan Gilbert, another member of Seattle's rotation, worked two scoreless innings in his first relief outing since his college days at Stetson University in 2017.

“It was such a tough night," Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh said. "Everyone put their other stuff side and did everything for the team, including Logan and Luis.”

Detroit wasted a stellar performance by Tarik Skubal, who struck out 13 while pitching six innings of one-run ball. The Tigers went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base.

“We had an incredible game today that — unfortunately, somebody had to lose, and that somebody was us, and it hurts,” manager A.J. Hinch said.

Kerry Carpenter put Detroit in front when he hit a two-run homer off Gabe Speier in the sixth inning. Carpenter had four hits and walked twice, becoming the first player to reach five times and hit a home run in a winner-take-all postseason game since Babe Ruth in 1926, according to STATS.

The Mariners tied it at 2 on Leo Rivas' pinch-hit single off Tyler Holton in the seventh. Rivas celebrated his 28th birthday with his first postseason hit.

“He was up to the task tonight,” Wilson said. “It was a huge hit.”

The Mariners had a runner on second with no outs in the 10th, 12th and 13th inning — and came up empty each time. Arozarena and Eugenio Suárez both grounded into a double play in extra innings.

The Tigers threatened in the 12th, putting runners on second and third with one out. Zach McKinstry was cut down at home when he attempted to score on Javier Báez's grounder to third. After Carpenter was walked intentionally, Gleyber Torres flied out to right.

Dillon Dingler hit a one-out double for Detroit in the 14th, but he was stranded there when Parker Meadows struck out looking against Eduard Bazardo and Castillo retired Báez on a popup to first.

“Guys just kept battling. There were opportunities on both sides after the ninth inning,” Hinch said.

Seattle dropped four of its six games against Toronto this season. The Mariners won two of three in an April series in Toronto, but they were swept by the Blue Jays at home from May 9-11.

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Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Logan Gilbert reacts during the 14th inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Detroit Tigers center fielder Javier Báez (28) walks to the dugout after popping out to end the top of the 14th inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Seattle Mariners, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena catches a fly ball hit by Detroit Tigers left fielder Riley Greene to take it to the bottom of the 15th inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Division Series Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco (7) hits an RBI-single for shortstop J.P. Crawford to score the game-winning run during the 15th inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco reacts after hitting an RBI-single for shortstop J.P. Crawford to score the game-winning run during the 15th inning in Game 5 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

NEW YORK (AP) — A former New York City police sergeant is set to be sentenced Thursday for tossing a picnic cooler full of drinks at a fleeing suspect, who then crashed his motorized scooter and died.

The ex-officer, Erik Duran, was convicted of manslaughter in the 2023 death of Eric Duprey. The former sergeant, who said he was trying to protect other officers from the approaching scooter, faces up to 15 years in prison.

The case has animated police on one hand and accountability activists on the other. Duran's union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, says thousands of officers have signed an online petition calling for him to be spared prison. Meanwhile, a couple of dozen protesters demonstrated outside a Bronx courthouse Thursday to demand justice for Duprey.

Duran was part of a narcotics policing group that conducted a “buy-and-bust” operation in the Bronx on Aug. 23, 2023. Police said Duprey sold drugs to an undercover officer, then tried to flee on a scooter.

Surveillance video showed Duprey driving the motorized scooter on a sidewalk toward a group of people. As he approached, the then-sergeant — who wasn't in uniform — picked up a bystander's cooler and thew it.

The container full of ice, water and sodas struck Duprey. He lost control of the scooter, slammed into a tree and crashed onto the pavement.

Duprey, 30, wasn't wearing a helmet. He sustained fatal head injuries and died almost instantly, according to prosecutors with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office.

They argued that Duran had enough time to warn others to move but instead hurled the cooler because he was angry.

Duran, however, testified that he made a split-second decision to keep other officers safe from the scooter speeding toward them.

“He was gonna crash into us,” Duran said in court, adding that “all I had time for was to try again to stop or to try to get him to change directions.”

He testified that he immediately tried to help Duprey after seeing the crash and the extent of the man's injuries.

Duran opted to have a judge, not a jury, decide the case. Judge Guy Mitchell found him guilty, saying that his status as a police officer “has no bearing” on the case.

But Sergeants Benevolent Association President Vincent Vallelong has said the conviction sent “a terrible message to hard-working cops” about the costs of defending themselves and fellow officers.

Duran was a New York Police Department officer for 13 years before he was suspended after the crash. He was dismissed from the force after his conviction this past February.

Duprey worked as a delivery driver and had three young children. His mother, who said she was on a video call with him right before he died, disputed the police claims that he sold drugs and fled from officers.

A lawyer for Duprey's family, Jon Roberts, said they are “hopeful that the court will do justice for Eric and the loss that the entire family has endured and hope that this marks the beginning of the healing process.”

FILE - Gretchen Soto, the mother of Eric Duprey, speaks outside the Bronx Criminal Court in New York, Feb. 6, 2026, after New York police officer Erik Duran was convicted of manslaughter after he tossed a picnic cooler filled with drinks at a fleeing Duprey, causing him to fatally crash his motorized scooter. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur, File)

FILE - New York police officer Erik Duran, who is charged with hurling a plastic cooler at a man fleeing officers on a motorized scooter, causing a crash that killed the driver, arrives to his manslaughter trial at the Bronx Criminal Court in New York, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur, File)