3. Leading the AL West for the first time since 2003
August 25th seemed like a typical Friday night at T-Mobile Park. The bottom-of-the-AL-Central Kansas City Royals were in town for the first game of a three-game series, and 45,175 fans packed the seats.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Andres Munoz struck out Freddy Fermin with an inside fastball, escaping the jam and recording his ninth save of the season. The crowd went wild not just because the Mariners had emerged victorious, but because for the first time in twenty years, the Seattle Mariners stood alone atop the highly competitive AL West division. After a horribly slow July that saw them as far back as ten games, they clawed their way all the way back to first.
It would a position they would hold for mere days but would kick off a mad dash to the finish with the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros.