Wondering how the Mariners can make the playoffs? With 2 games left, here’s the scenario
Poised for yet another exciting regular-season finish at T-Mobile Park, the Mariners are still alive.
Crucial, bases-loaded hits by J.P. Crawford propelled Seattle to consecutive wins over the Texas Rangers on Thursday and Friday — which, effectively, have kept the Mariners in postseason contention.
With two regular-season games remaining, the Mariners (87-73), Rangers (89-71), and Houston Astros (88-72) are each in contention for the AL West title. Any of the three clubs could secure a divsion crown or playoff berth this weekend, or any three could see their season end Sunday.
It’s truly a wild, wild AL West in 2023, and it will be decided in less than 36 hours.
Seattle hosts Texas for each of the last two games; Houston visits Arizona.
“It’s going to be a really interesting finish to the weekend,” manager Scott Servais said Friday night. “We still need a little help. We’ve just got to focus on tomorrow.”
Why do the Mariners need help? Because Seattle trails Houston for the final AL wild card spot by one game — meaning the Mariners need a win and an Astros loss to make up ground.
But Seattle owns what could be a pivotal tiebreaker, should the Astros lose and Mariners win on Saturday or Sunday. Houston, however, could win both Saturday and Sunday to deem Seattle’s contest meaningless.
If Houston wins and Seattle loses on Saturday, the Mariners would be eliminated.
But if Seattle wins and Houston loses on Saturday, the Mariners would control their playoff destiny with a victory on Sunday.
“We can’t look at the scoreboard,” shortstop J.P. Crawford said Friday night. “We’ve got to worry about winning that game tomorrow.”
Seattle’s only path to an AL West crown would require a three-way tie (89-73) atop the standings, in which the Mariners own the tiebreaker. The Mariners would need to win Saturday and Sunday, and Houston would need to split their final two games in Arizona.
Another possible-but-unlikely scenario: Seattle could supplant Toronto in the wild card standings with two wins over the weekend, plus two Blue Jays losses.
Seattle’s Luis Castillo takes the mound Saturday for the penultimate regular-season game with the Rangers. First pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m., and Texas would secure a playoff berth with a win.
“Just keep going,” Crawford said. “That’s been our motto this year. It doesn’t matter what happens, the good or the bad. Just keep going.
“We’ve got two important games. That’s all that’s on my mind right now.”
AL WEST PLAYOFF ODDS
Numbers provided by FanGraphs:
Seattle Mariners
Win AL West: 13.3 percent
Make Playoffs: 31.6 percent
Texas Rangers
Win AL West: 65.2 percent
Make Playoffs: 89.9 percent
Houston Astros
Win AL West: 21.5 percent
Make Playoffs: 83.5 percent
This story was originally published September 30, 2023 at 9:40 AM with the headline "Wondering how the Mariners can make the playoffs? With 2 games left, here’s the scenario."
