Mathematically speaking, the Mariners were never out of the playoff race.But passing the eye test? Winning the hearts and minds of fans? That certainly left som
Mathematically speaking, the Mariners were never out of the playoff race.
But passing the eye test? Winning the hearts and minds of fans? That certainly left something to be desired.
Two things can be true at the same time:
Mariners fans can be upset that a team with this much talent is six games under .500 heading into Sunday's action.
And, thanks to a potentially historically weak AL West, they're right in the middle of the playoff push.
At 62-68, thanks to back-to-back walk-off wins over the Chicago Cubs, the Mariners are now just three games behind Houston, a team they've beaten nine times in eleven tries this season for the AL West lead.
And it won't take much to launch this team past them.
Up to this point, even that modest streak that the team would need to vault themselves to first felt far-fetched. So it's okay for fans to feel apprehensive about the team's chances, frustrated even.
But don't count them out. At least not yet.
Let's not forget, this team was even further out of the AL West lead even later in the season in 2025, when they were four games out of first on September 3rd.
And we all know how that story turned out.
It's not entirely the picture to leave it there, right? The 2025 team wasn't 6 games under .500; they were actually 6 games over the mark.
But Houston too, of course, is 7 games worse right now than at the same point last year.
The point here is this: the Mariners are capable; they proved it in back-to-back nights with these wins over the Cubs. The flair for the dramatic is real.
There's a palpable buzz at the ballpark.
Back-to-back walk-off wins certainly feel like that inflection point. That moment when maybe this team captures that elusive energy that can carry a baseball team into the history books.
In months past, Friday and Saturday's games might have felt over. You still may have felt that way heading into the 9th inning. Until Leo Rivas and then Randy Arozarena had their way.
Call it the anticipation for Kade Anderson's arrival, the general excitement for the home stretch, or maybe just the fact that every season since 2021 we've seen some kind of September surge and fans sort of instinctively know something is on the horizon.
Sometimes it's enough; sometimes it wasn't in those last few seasons.
But I'll repeat, it won't take much this year to overtake a weak division and leap past a team you have simply dominated going back to July of last year.
You're allowed to be skeptical, but don't ignore the signs that this team can come back.
And, because it's the Mariners way, you'll absolutely be allowed to hop on the ride in October if that flair for the dramatic continues into September.
