The Seattle Mariners Still Technically Have a Shot at the Playoffs

Seattle Mariners fans, the odds cannot get much slimmer than this. The M’s have 83 wins and both the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics have 86 wins with 4 games to play.

If the Mariners go 4-0 and one of those two teams go 1-3 they’d have a playoff game for the Wild Card playoff game. If one of those teams went 0-4, the M’s would have a spot in the playoffs.

Don’t get too hopeful, though, as the Mariners have been battered around and cannot seem to score runs when they matter most.

Game Details:

Seattle Mariners: 83-75. Lost 5 straight.

Toronto Blue Jays: 81-77. Won 3 straight.

Game Time: 1:07 PM Pacific time. Location: Toronto, Canada. Rogers Centre

MATCHUPS:

Pitching:

Seattle Mariners RHP Tom Wilhelmsen (3-2, 2.10 ERA) v. Daniel Norris (0-0, 5.40 ERA)

Edge? The Bartender and Co.

The Mariners have decided to pitch this series finale by committee, largely because their starting rotation has done nothing for them recently. Norris is a September call-up for the Jays, and has been hit around a bit since hitting the Bigs. But don’t forget, the Mariners are notorious for making pitchers with 5.00 plus ERAs look like the next coming of Pedro Martinez.

Lineups:

Mariners:

Austin Jackson 8

Chris Taylor 6

Robinson Cano DH

Kendrys Morales 3

Kyle Seager 5

Logan Morrison 7

Michael Saunders 9

Mike Zunino 2

Brad Miller 4

Of Note: The Mariner couldn’t score a run for Taijuan Walker last night. He dealt 8 innings on one-run ball in a game the Mariners had to have. But the offense, as it has been wont to do all season, decided not to show up.

Blue Jays:

Dalton Pompey 9

Munenori Kawasaki 4

Edwin Encarnacion DH

Adam Lind 3

Danny Valencia 5

George Kottaras 2

Kevin Pillar 7

Anthony Gose 8

Ryan Goins 6

Of Note: the Blue Jays did last night what the Mariners could not: provide their great starting pitcher with some run support. Even though it was just 1 run, it was enough to beat a team inept at scoring.

Final Thoughts:

This just hurts. The Mariners were so close and were handed a prime opportunity with the A’s free-falling. But they’ve lost, and kept losing, throughout September, arguably playing their worst baseball in the most important month. I don’t think the ‘Pen is going to be able to keep the Jays down, and I have a feeling young Norris is going to look like an ace this afternoon.

Score Prediction:

Mariners 2, Blue Jays 5.

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