Mariners Playoff Hopes: Three Things that Need to Happen

The 2021 Seattle Mariners season has been a wild ride. The highs have been exhilarating, and the lows have been excruciating. The heartstrings of Mariners fans are being pulled on a seemingly nightly basis, and through it all, there is a palpable, desperate yearning from Seattle’s fanbase for the team to end its 20-year playoff drought. Could this be the year that Mariners Madness makes its way into the postseason?

The Mariners currently sit 5.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics in the American League Wild Card race, while also battling with the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, two teams with equal desire for those two playoff positions. After losing 3 out of 4 games against the Yankees this weekend, Seattle has its work cut out for them the rest of the way.

Despite their recent struggles, the Mariners can still pave their own way to the playoffs.

Ever since the earth-shaking trade of closer Kendall Graveman on July 27th, the Mariners have lost 8 of their last 12 games and, frankly, haven’t looked the part of a playoff team. Many players in the clubhouse were left confused and frustrated when the leader of their outstanding bullpen was traded, and their lackluster play over the last two weeks could be a direct result of those emotions.

However, time is the true healer of all wounds, and it seems the Mariners have some Mojo back after a nice 2-0 shutout of the Yankees in New York on Sunday. Heading back to Seattle for a 6-game homestand, now is the perfect time to gain some ground in that A.L. Wild Card race.

Beyond having a solid rebound from the Yankees series, let’s take a look at what else needs to happen over the course of the next month and a half if we’re hoping to see the M’s take the field in the playoffs: