2 reasons the Mariners will make the playoffs and 2 reasons they won't

Reason #1 Mariners make playoffs: The pitching staff

If Castillo was healthy, I think the Mariners would have an even better shot. For some reason, people talk down about La Piedra despite his 3.64 ERA and consistency in going deep into games. (Well, deep by modern-day standards). With him out, there is a lot more pressure on Emerson Hancock.

I think this might actually help the Mariners. There is a part of me that wonders if the team fell into a rut because they knew the pitching staff was going to dominate. Now, they know (especially on the road), that they need to go out there and score 4+ runs. It seems like it has helped as of late, as the offense has been doing better.

In turn, it could help the staff as well. They don't have to worry about a single mistake costing the team the game, which we saw countless times throughout the first... well, 120 games of the season.

Kirby-Gilbert-Miller-Woo. We've seen what they can do when they are on top of their games. With 2-3 starts from each of them remaining (Woo and Miller each have 3 left), they could definitely pitch their way into contention. The offense just needs to do their part.