AL West champion Mariners secure a crucial puzzle piece for a deep playoff run

The good news just keeps coming for the Seattle Mariners, as if they're racking up positive headlines like Cal Raleigh racks up home runs. And the latest is the best bit of news since they clinched the AL West, even if it wasn't quite 24 hours ago as of this writing.

With the Cleveland Guardians' loss to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, the Mariners find themselves 3.0 games up on both clubs heading into the final weekend of the regular season. As they hold tiebreakers on Cleveland and Detroit, they have thus officially clinched at least the No. 2 seed in the AL playoff field.

This outcome had felt like a foregone conclusion, but it's still nice to know that the M's will be able to skip past the Wild Card Series and start their postseason push in the Division Series. Under the current projected arrangement, they would host either the Tigers or the Guardians at T-Mobile Park for Game 1 of the ALDS on October 4.

The other advantage of securing a first-round bye concerns Bryan Woo. He now has more than a week to continue his recovery from the right pec tightness that forced an early exit from his start against Houston last Friday.

As reported by Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, the All-Star righty was able to play catch on Thursday for the first time since his injury. It went well, though Woo also said he's "taking it day by day.”

The Mariners have scored a major advantage from securing the AL's No. 2 seed

Then there's the other reason the Mariners needed to end up with one of the AL's top two seeds: Perhaps as much as any team in the projected playoff field, they really needed home field advantage.

They have had little trouble defending their home turf this season, racking up a 50-27 record that ties them for the best home winning percentage of any AL team. They haven't lost a series at home since July, and are 28-6 in their last 34 home games overall.

The Mariners have the kind of offense that can put runs on the board anywhere, but their pitchers have needed T-Mobile Park in the worst way. Whereas they have a 22nd-ranked 4.50 ERA on the road, their 3.24 ERA at home is the third-best mark in the league.

Seattle is still technically in play for the No. 1 seed, which would guarantee home field advantage throughout the AL bracket. However, two wins separate them from the Yankees and Blue Jays, who both hold tiebreakers on the Mariners. With only three games left after Thursday, securing the No. 1 seed is a long shot.

Regardless, that the Mariners will have home field advantage in the Division Series is yet another reason to take them seriously as a threat to make it to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. The big one, of course, is that this is simply a damn good team.