The Seattle Mariners are in a great position to find themselves holding a playoff spot come October. However, there is still some work to be done. After the winningest month in Mariner history where they went 21-6, the Mariners have been struggling. So far in September, they have put up a record of 5-11. They are far from the division lead that they once held over the Astros and Rangers, as they have fallen out of the last wild card spot. They are currently a half game back. Will the Mariners be able to reclaim the division? Will they be able to secure one of the remaining wild card spots? Only time will tell. Class of 2026 baseball phenom and starting Blanchet center fielder Tommy Belle says, “We’re a team that’s heavily dependent on the fans. If fans come out with energy, it helps the Mariners perform. If they keep playing well, we will attain a playoff spot this year, and potentially go deep into the postseason.”
The Mariners don’t have an easy road to the playoffs. The AL West is an incredibly competitive division this year. The Rangers are 84-68 with the exact same record as the Mariners. The Astros are a half of a game ahead of the two, with a record of 85-68. In the final ten games of this season, the Mariners have seven games against the Rangers and three against the Astros. These final games against our division rivals will define our season. If we lose out, we will not be playing in October. However, if we win out, we will likely win the division and have a bye going into the playoffs. We will see how it will pan out.
Best case scenario, the Mariners take the number two seed behind the Orioles, who have the best record in the American League. We would then take on the Rangers or the Twins. Both are very beatable teams, especially with home-field advantage. The next best scenario would be taking the final wild-card spot. In that case, we would play the twins, a team who have an 81-72 record. The Mariners would have an advantage in this matchup. After the Twins, we would then play the Astros, who we’ve handled very well this year. The worst-case playoff scenario would be taking the number five seed. We would then have to take on the Rays at home, one of the best teams in baseball. We also just lost a series 3-1 against them. This would be a bad matchup for the Mariners. Obviously, the worst outcome would be to miss the playoffs altogether. This is an outcome that is definitely possible given our remaining schedule. The Mariners have a good chance of making it deep into the playoffs if we play well these last ten games. I will be excited to watch how these Mariners play while we make our way toward October.
