The Mariners are the Best Team in Baseball at These Two Things
The Seattle Mariners are not a perfect baseball team. Though they are in first place in the American League West at 41-31, they have warts: They don't hit nearly well enough, they have some questions in the bullpen, and they are having to overcome multiple key injures to be where they are at.
However, the M's are the best in baseball at these two specific things, according to Mike Lefko of Seattle Sports:
The Mariners are 6-0 in the City Connects and a MLB-best 17-7 in one-run games.
The Mariners are 6-0 in the City Connects and a MLB-best 17-7 in one-run games. #TridentsUp
— Mike Lefko (@MikeLefko) June 15, 2024
Now, the "City Connect" note is just something fun, but winning one-run games has become part of the identity of the Mariners over the last several years.
Though they lack overall hitting consistency, they have been able to string together some late-game magic multiple times this year. Furthermore, while the bullpen has holes in the middle innings, the back end with Andres Munoz and Ryne Stanek has proven pretty strong. Tayler Saucedo, Austin Voth and Trent Thornton have also proven capable of throwing in high-leverage situations.
The M's lead the American League West by 6.5 games right now over the Rangers. They haven't won a division title since 2001 and have only made the playoffs three times in the 2000s (2000, 2001, 2022).
The Mariners will be back in action on Saturday afternoon against the Texas Rangers. They won the first game of the series on Friday night 3-2. Saturay's game will be played at 4:15 p.m. PT and will air nationally on FOX television.
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