3 teams the Mariners fans need to root for to secure a postseason spot

The Cleveland Guardians could provide Seattle with 2 avenues to the playoffs

The Guardians should far and away be Mariners fans' second favorite team to finish the 2024 season. Cleveland has a comfortable lead in a surprisingly talented AL Central and will still need to play some competitive baseball to secure the division title. They could also be fighting with the New York Yankees for the number one seed, securing home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Cleveland could play a huge role in the Mariners making the playoffs. They start off with a four-game set at home against the Twins. This could be huge for the Mariners' odds of landing the final wild card spot as the Mariners are 2.5 games back of the Twins. Minnesota is 4-6 in its last 10 games, so hopefully their struggles continue as they head on the road against their division rivals.

The Guardians will likely have to play a key role in the Mariners securing their first division title in over 20 years as they will host the Astros for the final four games of the season. Hopefully, by this time the Mariners have already swept the Astros and just need to maintain the lead to make the playoffs, but that doesn't necessarily seem likely. If the Mariners can be just a game behind the Astros, the Guardians winning that series to close out the year, could be the deciding factor in Seattle finally knocking the Astros off of the AL West pedestal.