SEATTLE -- 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.
At 4 hours, 58 minutes, it was the longest winner-take-all postseason game in baseball history and featured 15 pitchers -- eight for the Mariners and seven for the Tigers.
With one out and the bases loaded, Polanco drove in J.P. Crawford with a liner to right off Tommy Kahnle. Crawford hit a leadoff single, Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch and Julio Rodriguez was intentionally walked before Polanco's big swing on the 472nd pitch of an epic Game 5 in a tightly contested Division Series.
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.
"We never give up," Polanco said. "We just keep fighting. It doesn't matter how many innings we play. We just stay ready and wait for the moment. It's going to come. It was my time."
Friday's win was the Mariners' first series-clinching victory in extra innings since Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS, a 6-5 victory in 11 innings over the Yankees.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
