3 moments that may have cost the Mariners a chance at the 2024 postseason

A roller coaster season that carried a ton of expectations is winding down and the odds of making the playoffs look grim at best. After a tough series loss against the Yankees and squandering a sweep of the Texas Rangers, the Mariners will need to really capitalize over their final six games against the Astros and A's, while getting some help, if they hope to play baseball in October.

While the season as a whole can be summarized and credited to a struggling offense, there were a lot of factors that played a role in this team blowing one of the largest division leads (a 10-game lead on June 18) in recent memory.

Specifically, though, we can narrow down three moments that will loom larger than the rest if the M's fail to make the postseason.

Mariners blow another huge lead against the Kansas City Royals

If there was any game throughout this year that was the epitome of the Seattle Mariners 2024 season, it came on June 7 when the Mariners squared off against the Kansas City Royals. It's not representative of the typical dominant pitching and struggling offense. It was actually rather contrary, but the roller coaster that ensued really defined it.

A first inning that saw the Mariners plate seven runs, including three extra-base hits and three free bases set Bryce Miller up for the most run support a Mariners pitcher would see all year. Things looked great as Miller coasted through three scoreless. All good, right? Nope. Four runs in the fourth inning, a three-run sixth, and a comeback in the ninth cost the Mariners what seemed like the easiest win they'd have all year.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of this loss was the execution of the bullpen by former Mariners manager, Scott Servais, who was eventually fired amid the team's slide. His choice to roll with Ryne Stanek ultimately cost them the game. After throwing the night before, this would mark back-to-back outings for the veteran. The confusing part was that Seattle's star closer, Andres Munoz, was completely fresh, having not made an appearance since Tuesday, June 4.

The Mariners sat five games ahead in the AL West after this loss, and even though it was an emotional one, they would still go on to take a commanding lead over the Astros and other division rivals. Just 10 days later, their place atop the AL West climbed to 10 games and it seemed like this team was headed for American League dominance.

Looking back, it seems like this was more of a "calm before the storm" type of situation. Just a month later, the Mariners rolled into the All-Star break with just a one-game lead; a stretch where Seattle limped to an 8-15 record while the Astros surged with a 17-6 record.

Julio Rodriguez with a costly baserunning mistake

While the entirety of the 2024 season will be focused on the Mariners dominance on the mound and the absolutely putrid performance from an offense that couldn't live up to expectations, the team still had every opportunity in the final weeks to stake their claim atop the AL West. Yet, mental mistakes will highlight a team that is in desperate need of some veteran leadership. This team is just too young and inexperienced in big time games and could use more battle-tested guys, like Justin Turner.

That youth and inexperience was on full display in a pivotal series against the New York Yankees last week. Robles, who was a large part of the Nationals 2019 World Series team, has struggled to stick as a regular contributor despite his surge with the M's in 2024. He made a big baserunning mistake in the first game of this series that exemplified this team's biggest weakness.

However, it was no comparison to Julio Rodriguez's laughable and infuriating, baserunning blunder. In extra innings, a Cal Raleigh leadoff single with Rodriguez on second base set the Mariners up with a key chance to at least tie the game. With Arozarena up and runners on the corners, the veteran struck out swinging and the bat flew out of his hands, in the direction of Rodriguez, who was taking a lead off third base. The errant lumber sent the former Rookie of the Year strolling towards the Yankees dugout as he avoided the bat, and it immediately drew the attention of Jazz Chisolm Jr. and catcher Austin Wells.

Wells fired the ball down to Chisholm, who called for it when he saw Rodriguez asleep at the wheel. The Yankees applied the tag, and just like that, the Mariners went from runners on the corners with nobody out to a runner on first with two outs. The lost by one.