Mariners have the most wholesome plan possible to avoid playoff bye week rust

As the calendar turns to October, the Mariners aren’t just resting — they’re rallying. With the AL West title secured and a week to breathe before the ALDS, Seattle has turned a potential lull into an event. Rather than letting the rhythm go quiet, the club is opening the gates at T-Mobile Park and asking the fans to help keep the beat. It’s smart, it’s fan-forward, and it’s exactly the kind of move that fits this group’s vibe: competitive, communal, and a bit clever.

Here’s the play: the Mariners will stage 6-inning intrasquad scrimmages at T-Mobile on Wednesday and Thursday, and they’re doing it with fans in the stands. Tickets are just $10, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Mariners Care Foundation — a perfect way to keep momentum rolling while doing some good.

For anyone who missed out on NLDS tickets when they vanished or had planned to hit the Wild Card round before Seattle earned a bye, this is the perfect make-good to get your baseball fix without waiting for the first pitch of the Division Series.

Mariners tap fans to help them stay sharp for the ALDS

M’s manager Dan Wilson spelled out the mission.  “With a week off before the Division Series, it’s critical that we do whatever we can to stay in rhythm. We want to create the most realistic game conditions possible for these scrimmages and our fans are the most important part of that real-game atmosphere in T-Mobile Park.”

Translation: the swings and reps matter, but so does the sound and the crowd noise. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto echoed the theme.

“You can go play hard. Every one of our players is gonna play hard. They’re all gonna do their work. None of them is gonna skip a weight room day. That’s just not how this group’s wired,” he said. “But the way you create energy is you create energy with fans, with the buzz, with noise in the ballpark. And I do think that that is gonna be a critical piece of what we do. So I hope that people show out.”

And they’re making it fun. During the scrimmages, fans can gear up with fresh AL West Champs and Postseason merch at the Team Store, and grab favorites at select Walk-Off Markets. Best of all, there’s no wrong side to cheer for — this is the rare night when you can root for both “teams” and never feel conflicted. It’s a live-fire practice dressed like a party, and it turns a scheduling quirk into a shared October memory.

From a baseball standpoint, the benefits are obvious: hitters keep their timing, pitchers sharpen sequences against big-league swings, and everyone stays acclimated to the park’s sightlines. From a community standpoint, it’s even better: you keep the energy going, keep the fanbase engaged, get meaningful work in, and raise money for charity all in one neat two-day package.

Bottom line: this is the most wholesome way possible to fight bye-week rust and keep T-Mobile humming. If you’ve been itching for October baseball and a chance to be part of the buildup, this is your moment.