With Julio Rodríguez recovered from the IL, the Mariners will take the field Friday night in Texas with their full lineup for the first time since April 29, the day Mitch Haniger returned from the COVID IL, which took one at bat while suffering from the high ankle sprain, an injury that caused him to miss 87 games.
Mariners activate Rodríguez, demote Kelenic in a series of roster moves
Julio, Mitch and the rest of the lineup will enter this match knowing the tough parts of their schedule are over after going 10-10 in the most recent stretch, a gauntlet that spanned 13 games against two top teams in the American League, the Astros and Yankees. For them now, 49 games with a ranking strength of 30, accounting for the latter.
As they say here in Texas, giddyup.
A year ago, the Mariners were hunting a Wild Card spot. Today they decide their fate with the second Wild Card, just half a game behind Toronto in first place with their 14-game winning streak the difference maker.
Heading into their game against the A’s on June 21, the Mariners were 29-39 with the prospect of a long, disappointing summer ahead. The only chance of putting themselves in position to make a postseason run would be to win with a ridiculous clip, which they somehow did. Had they gone 7-7, their record today would be 54-59, giving them 5.5 games from a Wild Card spot with Boston, Chicago, Minnesota and Baltimore all ahead of them.
Realistically, there is one goal. With the Astros down to 11 games in the AL West, it would take an epic collapse for the Mariners to win the division. However, the top Wild Card spot is a fantastic carrot with great rewards. That playoff vibe we saw at T-Mobile Park this week? The only way the Mariners will see that again in the Wild Card round is if they are in first place, as the Wild Card games are only played in the home parks of the top team and the division winner with the third best record in the American League.
The path? Play good baseball and let the schedule do the rest. The Blue Jays have the ninth hardest schedule left with seven games against the Yankees, nine against the Rays, two against the Phillies and 13 against what could turn out to be the ultimate spoiler team, the Baltimore Orioles.
The Mariners the rest of the way? Three against the Braves in T-Mobile Park, two against the Padres, seven against the Guardians and three against a rapidly dying White Sox team. That is it. The icing on the cake? September 20 to October 5 is a run of Oakland, Kansas City, Texas, Oakland and Detroit to conclude the season.
Of course, you’ll want to keep an eye on what’s going on behind them with the Rays and Orioles within two games’ range. Those two teams will play against each other nine times in the next few weeks, and after that you don’t want the Orioles to be too good spoilers. However, with seven games to go against the Astros and three with the Yankees, it’s probably safe to root them as they face other Wild Card hopefuls.
Watching the scoreboard the rest of the way should be fun, but the real show should be what’s right in front of us. If all goes well, this final stretch should be as much about preparing for a post-season run as it is about achieving it. The two series against the Yankees may have been a taste. Playoff baseball is different. Complain about the attack all you want – and yes, a little more would be nice – but it’s the pitching that dominates in October.
Mariners show they can beat baseball’s elite
Yankees manager Aaron Boone believes the Mariners are well built.
“I think they are really good,” he said after the loss on Wednesday. “They can pitch, you know, of course they have some good starters, but their bullpen is, I think, about as good a bullpen as we’ve been through. They can mix and match, they have left and right in their line-up… That team definitely feels real.”
“That team” is finally in place, and it’s well worth noting what has been accomplished through their struggle and adversity to get to this point. No loss of player or game has proved too great. No game is over until the final is out. The belief in that clubhouse is huge.
When I saw Jerry Dipoto get on the plane on Wednesday morning, I laughed to myself and thought, “Well, what are you going to do now?” The deadline has passed, the rotation has been arranged, an ace has been added, areas of need have been reinforced.
The team is in place. Now they play.
Fann: M’s have ace, striking pen, recurring phenomenon and high chances of making it to playoffs
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