SEATTLE — By the end, there was practically nobody left to pitch, and nothing left to say. It was dramatic and chaotic and historic, and in a bizarre way, an appropriate conclusion to a chaotic season.

Ultimately, after five hours and 15 innings of ridiculously tense baseball, the Tigers fell a few swings short. It was an incredible game wrapped around an incredible individual performance, and it featured all the thrills and ills that defined this team. Tarik Skubal was otherworldly, as dominant as any pitcher in playoff history, and it wasn’t enough to win the series.

The Mariners finally got the clutch hit that had eluded both teams, as Jorge Polanco’s bases-loaded single in the 15th nailed down a 3-2 victory in Game 5 of the ALDS Friday night. It sent the T-Mobile Park crowd into unhinged delirium, and the Tigers into another offseason of reflection.

Inning after inning, it was an excruciating exercise, and it was hard to tell if it was clutch pitching or feeble swinging. Or both. Fifteen total pitchers were used, eight by the Tigers. By the time there was a second seventh-inning stretch in the 14th, it was officially the longest winner-take-all game in MLB postseason history, and it ended about 1:08 a.m. Detroit time.

Both bullpens did fantastic work. Neither lineup did much of anything. The Mariners get to play the Blue Jays in the ALCS and the Tigers get to figure out why their offense fell apart. In the immediate aftermath, there wasn’t much analysis, only pain. AJ Hinch’s eyes watered as he described what he told his team.

“We had an incredible game that unfortunately somebody had to lose, and that somebody was us, and it hurts, you know?” Hinch said. “We have nothing to hang our heads on, and there's going to be plenty of time to talk about the season, this game, the peaks, the valleys. But I'm extremely proud of that group for what we accomplished and how we fought to try to extend our season.”

The Tigers finished in the same spot as a year ago, in Game 5 of the ALDS, with the same issues. They have the best pitcher in baseball, an inconsistent bullpen, and a feast-or-famine offense that disappears for long stretches.

In this one, Kerry Carpenter feasted — 4 for 5 with a two-run homer and two walks. The rest of the Tigers lineup went 4 for 46, including 0 for 23 from the middle of the order — Gleyber Torres, Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson and Colt Keith. The Mariners were 4-0 this season in games Skubal started because the Tigers couldn’t score.

'It's meant to hurt'

Skubal put on an historic show. He struck out seven in a row at one point, never before done in the postseason, and finished with 13 strikeouts, most ever in a deciding playoff game. His last strikeout came on a 101-mph fastball to Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh to end the sixth, and he exited with a 2-1 lead.

Skubal will be back next season, and who knows after that with his pending free-agency. He deserves credit for simply doing his job better than anyone without blaming others for the disappointment. He didn’t even want to talk about his own effort because it came in defeat.

“It’s tough, it’s meant to sting, it’s meant to hurt,” Skubal said. “And then you gotta re-channel that into motivation to make yourself never want to feel that feeling again. I think the guys in this room will use it the right way. I know I will. That’s what motivates me, to try to win a World Series.”

This was a squandered opportunity, with excellent bullpen work wasted. The Mariners had eight total hits, three by Josh Naylor. The teams combined for 37 strikeouts, 20 by Seattle.

It felt like each team had the game won or lost multiple times, but the pitchers were unrelenting. Everyone took a turn and took a role, with gutsy extra-inning efforts from Troy Melton, Keider Montero and starter Jack Flaherty. Pitching on short rest, Flaherty escaped jams in the 13th and 14th innings. Reliever Tommy Kahnle was the last guy in and gave up the winning run.

“We dodged a few bullets, and so did they,” Hinch said. “I didn't want that game to end, certainly not the way that it did. I wanted to just keep giving ourselves a puncher's chance, and they outlasted us.”

The Tigers left 10 men on base and were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position, the malady that eventually doomed them. They had a supreme chance in the 12th, after Zach McKinstry and Dillon Dingler collected hits. They were bunted to second and third with one out, and all the Tigers needed was a fly ball, a grounder, a wild pitch, anything.

Javy Baez broke his bat on a soft grounder to third and McKinstry was thrown out at the plate. Torres ended the threat with a flyout, and both bullpens kept churning. It was incomprehensible, really, how futile the offenses were.

Torkelson had his moments in these playoffs, but outside of Carpenter, no Tiger hitters had moments in this one. Torkelson was 0 for 6 with four strikeouts and tried to grasp what they’d just gone through.

“Heartbreaking ending, but an unbelievable baseball game to be a part of,” Torkelson said. “We didn’t win, but I feel like the standard’s a lot higher than where it’s been. Our floor has been raised, and we don’t know what our ceiling is. We’re not satisfied making it to Game 5 of the ALDS, we want more.”

Feast-or-famine Tigers

Some might wish they’d gotten even more out of Skubal, but that’s reaching for the wrong answer. He was at 99 pitches through six innings, and I’m sure debates stirred about past bulldogs such as Justin Verlander and Jack Morris.

It may be frustrating but it’s fruitless to compare power pitchers. Skubal is every bit as powerful as any that came before him, but the game has changed. Pitching staffs are built on bullpens as much as dominant starters and Hinch wasn’t going to abandon the strategy.

While Skubal makes it hard on opposing batters, the Tigers make it hard on him, and on themselves. He has little margin for error, and a couple of blips cost him this postseason. He surrendered a pair of homers to Polanco in the 3-2 loss to the Mariners in Game 2.

This time, an equally unforgiving twist. Josh Naylor doubled with one out in the second, then caught Skubal unaware and stole third. Mitch Garver delivered a sacrifice fly and it was 1-0, and with these teams, one run is everything.

The legend of Skubal is more pronounced when every strikeout and every pitch is so huge. I think the all-or-nothing nature of this team is why the Tigers have a complicated relationship with their fans, who were wildly frustrated by the late-season swoon, 7-17 in September. It can make the Tigers maddening and confusing — sometimes hard for fans to embrace, but also impossible to ignore.

By the rules of feast-or-famine, a feast follows the failures, and it was that way much of the season and all of the playoffs. There is much to build upon, and it will have to start with president of baseball operations Scott Harris taking a more aggressive approach to adding hitters and relievers. His trade deadline whiff did end up haunting.

He should feel renewed urgency. He certainly can hear it in Skubal’s words.

“I think the World Series should be the standard, not the ALCS or the ALDS,” Skubal said. “We were a really good baseball team. We just played probably the best win-or-go-home game of all time. There’s a lot to be proud of.”

That was the storyline during last year’s run. This time, it feels flatter, less satisfying. If the standards indeed are raised by back-to-back playoff appearances, the Tigers will need to treat it that way.

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