Jorge Polanco delivered a walk-off single in the 15th inning to lift the Seattle Mariners to a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 on Friday night, clinching their first American League Championship Series appearance since 2001.

The marathon contest lasted four hours and 58 minutes before a crowd of 47,025 at T-Mobile Park. Both teams combined to use 15 pitchers who threw 472 pitches in the back-and-forth elimination game.

"An incredible win for Seattle, which means it was an incredible loss for us," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "That was an epic game."

Detroit ace Tarik Skubal struck out 13 batters over six innings, including seven consecutive hitters at one point. His 99th and final pitch registered 101 mph to fan MVP candidate Cal Raleigh.

The Mariners immediately tied the game after Skubal's exit on a pinch-hit single by Leo Rivas, who was celebrating his 28th birthday. The score remained 2-2 for nearly three hours as both bullpens delivered scoreless innings.

Seattle starters Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo made their first career relief appearances during the extra innings. Castillo had not pitched out of the bullpen in nine years.

"You can't say enough about what those guys did out of the bullpen," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

The Mariners loaded the bases multiple times in extra innings, but Detroit turned two double plays to escape jams. Seattle put runners on base in both the 10th and 12th innings without scoring.

Tommy Kahnle entered for Detroit in the 15th inning and immediately allowed a J.P. Crawford single. After hitting Randy Arozarena with a pitch and walking Julio Rodriguez intentionally, Kahnle faced Polanco.

"I was just looking for a pitch to hit," Polanco said, describing how he focused on Kahnle's changeup.

Polanco pulled the ball between first and second base to score Crawford and spark a celebration at T-Mobile Park. The victory marked Seattle's first series-clinching win in extra innings since Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS, when Edgar Martinez drove in Ken Griffey Jr. against the Yankees.