The Mariners' sudden magic is barely saving them from danger in playoff quest

It's been almost a week since someone paid an online witch to cast a spell on the Seattle Mariners, and it's hard to argue with the results: five wins in five games to wash away the bitter taste of the worst stretch of baseball they had played all season.

Yet heading into the opener of a four-game set against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, the Mariners are still operating with a pitifully small margin for error.

They have benefited from the Etsy Witch's spell, to be sure. Their five-game win streak has cut their deficit to the Houston Astros in the American League West from 3.5 games down to just 1.0 game. And after they let the Texas Rangers get to within 0.5 games of the third wild card spot, the Mariners now have 1.5 games' worth of breathing room for the AL's last playoff ticket.

Even still, they are just a couple losses away from being out of the money in the AL playoff picture. After narrow misses in 2023 and 2024 — not to mention in 20 straight seasons between 2002 and 2021 — that thought alone is enough to strike fear in the heart of any Mariners faithful.

The Mariners can't mess around with an Angels team that packs a punch

The Mariners have indeed been playing differently during their five-game win streak, and obviously in ways that have been mostly good.

Just to start, they lead MLB in home runs (13) and runs (41) over the last five days. Even if most of that damage was done in Saturday and Sunday in Atlanta, the overall vibe is that the offense has regressed to the mean in a good way. The 4.2 runs it had averaged amid a 7-15 run leading up to this outburst was simply too little production for a lineup with this much talent.

Otherwise, the bullpen has a perfect 0.00 ERA over the last five days, and the gloves have been out in force. Julio Rodríguez alone has been a veritable Web Gem factory out in center field, and it was the infield defense that shined in an all-around ridiculous win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.

If there is anything even resembling a potential pitfall, it concerns the Mariners' splits with runners in scoring position over the last five days:

• Mariners Hitters with RISP: .305 AVG (7th in MLB)
• Mariners Pitchers with RISP: .105 AVG (1st in MLB)

If you're wondering what about this is bad news, it's simple: This is another one of those situations where regression feels inevitable.

No team can keep opponents batting in the .100s with runners in scoring position forever, and at no point this year has the Mariners offense been this reliable in those spots. Their .236 average with RISP is the third-worst mark in baseball, which is simultaneously "yeesh" and befitting of an offensive approach that puts walks, home runs, and stolen bases above situational hitting.

As they're hitting a solid .255 in such spots, the Angels are a decent bet to snap the Mariners' pitchers out of their RISP spell. They likewise pose a major home run threat, as their 201 long balls are only 12 fewer than the Mariners have hit this year.

It also just seems as if the Angels were made in a lab to trap contenders throughout 2025. They have never strayed too far under .500, and their 42 wins against teams with winning records are eclipsed by only one other American League team. Heck, they swept the Los Angeles Dodgers not long ago.

Meanwhile, Houston will spend the weekend in Atlanta and Texas will spend it in Queens. Both have a strong possibility of coming out the other side with series wins, as the Braves are just plain bad and the Mets are reeling from losses in five straight and 26 out of 40 overall.

So, the Mariners had better hope that the spell they're under isn't a temporary one. They need all the help they can get.

Game Times and Probable Pitchers for Angels vs. Mariners, September 11-14

• Thursday, September 11 at 6:40 p.m. PT: José Soriano vs. Bryce Miller
• Friday, September 12 at 7:10 p.m. PT: Yusei Kikuchi vs. Luis Castillo
• Saturday, September 13 at 6:40 p.m. PT: Mitch Farris vs. Bryan Woo
• Sunday, September 14 at 1:10 p.m. PT: Kyle Hendricks vs. George Kirby