Where the Seattle Mariners Stand in Updated American League Playoff Picture
In this story:
After a dreadful 2-7 road trip through Baltimore, New York, Williamsport and Philadelphia, the Seattle Mariners needed the off day in the worst way on Thursday.
They'll return home on Friday to start a new series with the division-rival Athletics, who have gone 7-3 in their last 10. The Mariners have gone 3-7.
However, thanks to struggles from many of the teams around them in the standings, the Mariners are still in a solid position right now with regards to a possible playoff berth.
American League West
Seattle enters the weekend officially two games back of the Houston Astros, who won on Thursday night against the Baltimore Orioles.
The M's will play the Astros in Houston from Sept. 19-21 and that series could go a long way toward determining if the Mariners can win the American League West for the first time since 2001.
Wild card
For the moment, it's five teams battling for three spots here with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Mariners, Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians all boasting reasonable chances.
Team | Record | WC Spot | Fangraphs Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
Yankees | 69-58 | 1 | 96.6 |
Red Sox | 69-59 | 2, 0.5 GB of NYY | 79.5 |
Mariners | 68-60 | 3, 1.0 GB of BOS | 86.7 |
Royals | 66-62 | 2.0 GB of SEA | 24.6 |
Guardians | 64-62 | 3.0 GB of SEA | 14.2 |
So, the computer likes the Mariners chances of getting into the playoffs, but they still have to play the games and do the job. There are multiple other things to note as we move forward:
Notable
- The Red Sox and Yankees play each other six more times, meaning the Mariners will have additional chances to gain ground on those teams.
- The Guardians and Royals play each other four times, so, same story.
- The Mariners play the Guardians three times, and the Royals three times. They will have a chance to separate from those teams, while also gaining season tiebreakers over them. Seattle is currently 3-0 against Cleveland and 2-2 vs. Kansas City.
- The Royals have the 11th-hardest schedule remaining, per Tankathon, and they play the Tigers six more times, the Phillies three and the Toronto Blue Jays three.
- Cleveland also plays Detroit six times, and they play Boston three more.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
NEW PODCAST IS HERE: Brady is back on a Friday, talking about the Mariners awful series in Philadelphia and whether or not the criticism of Dan Wilson is fair right now. Furthermore, he talks some of the criticism that he's received, as well as the death wishes sent to Tayler Saucedo. Emerson Hancock is moving to the bullpen, and how do you handle the Victor Robles situation? And Jordan Shusterman of Cespedes Family BBQ joins the show. CLICK HERE:
SCARY SITUATION: Julio Rodriguez was knocked into by a security guard at the Little League World Series complex, avoiding a scary looking injury. CLICK HERE:
SPECIAL BOND: Luis Castillo and Eugenio Suarez have been teammates for several years, and Castillo recently spoke about Suarez's impact on him. CLICK HERE:
Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE.
