SEATTLE -- He’s been the Mariners’ X-factor all year, with sneaky slug potential and has seemingly been right in the thick of things when their offense plays to its ceiling.

Which made Jorge Polanco the perfect player to rise to the occasion on Sunday night in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.

Seattle’s second baseman hit two huge homers off all-world ace Tarik Skubal that gave the Mariners’ pitching staff cushion to operate in a tense showdown that ended in a 3-2 victory for the Mariners to even the series.

Polanco became just the fourth player -- and first since 2021 -- to homer twice in the same game vs. Skubal, who’s the front-runner to win his second straight AL Cy Young Award and is widely regarded as the best pitcher on the planet.

Polanco also became the first

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