What the rolling Mariners must do to avoid September collapse

The Seattle Mariners have been rolling since the trade deadline, highlighted by a season-high eight-game winning streak. Their 11-3 record is second-best in the majors for this span, behind a streaking Milwaukee Brewers team which has won 13 games in a row.

Yet as good as things have been lately in the Pacific Northwest, the series loss in Baltimore versus the Orioles serves as a warning to not take anything for granted no matter how well things seem to be going. Here are four things the Mariners must do to avoid a collapse in September.

4 things to stop the Mariners missing the playoffs in 2025

1. Stay healthy

We start with something which, while obvious, doesn't make it any less important, with luck often playing a part when it comes to the health of a team. Certainly the Mariners have endured more than their fair share of bad injury luck this season, with a who's who list including the likes of George Kirby, Matt Brash, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Víctor Robles.

Of the aforementioned quintet, the first three are back and all seemingly back to their pre-injury best, which should scare the rest of the league. Meanwhile, Miller made his third Minor League rehab start on Wednesday and seems all but set to return, while Robles has begun his own rehab assignment and many are predicting he will be called up when teams can expand their rosters on Sep. 1.

With Luke Raley also being activated on Friday, the Mariners are in general a lot healthier now, especially when you compare their situation to the injury ravaged Houston Astros. (Don't expect any tears or pity in Seattle.) However, the M's must continue to stay healthy and lucky, with the recent season-ending injury to Trent Thornton serving as a reminder of how precious and unpredictable good health can be.

2. Keep the new-look offense rolling

The Mariners offense has in general been a lot better since Dan Wilson took over as manager late last season, with them actually ranking third in scoring last September. The improved offensive productivity has continued into this year with the team ninth in the majors in runs, which compares extremely favorably to being 21st for the whole of last season.

Now the lineup has become even more dangerous following the additions of Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez prior to the trade deadline. Naylor has been almost better than advertised and while the M's haven't seen the best of Suárez yet, people in Seattle are well aware of what he's capable of and just having him back on the roster helps the team as a whole.

While not new to the lineup, let's also mention Julio Rodríguez, who has been on fire since the sweep of the Detroit Tigers prior to the All-Star break, hitting .306/.358/.685 with a 1.044 OPS, tied-second with 13 homers and second outright among all players, with a 2.2 fWAR. On top of everything else, Cal Raleigh now seems to be out of his slump, so it's up to the Mariners to keep rolling.

3. Take advantage of a mostly soft schedule

It would appear the sporting gods have been kind to the Mariners when you look at their opponents during September. Of the eight teams they will face during the final month of the regular season, five have losing records, the Kansas City Royals are .500 and only the Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers have winning records.

It's only when you dig deeper that you can see the potential issues for the Mariners, with the Astros and Dodgers representing two of their final three opponents on the schedule at a time when competition for a playoff spot will be at its most volatile. The three-game set in Houston will be key as the AL West rivals are currently tied 5-5 in the head-to-head season series, while the Dodgers are still the Dodgers no matter how much they've slumped by their own high standards of late.

Additionally, some of the poorer teams on the September schedule could give Wilson's team fits on the road, with the Royals and Tampa Bay Rays having winning records at home and the Atlanta Braves being .500. Look, the Mariners have the talent to take advantage of a mostly soft September schedule, but this doesn't mean it will be a nicely leisurely walk in the (ball) park.

4. Don't choke

We've mentioned this once or 100 times previously, but if there's one team which seems to far too regularly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, it's your Seattle Mariners. This is a franchise which has mostly known only heartache and frustration during its nearly 50 years of existence, as evidenced by just three division titles and only five playoff appearances.

The prime example of getting it wrong even when things seems to go right is the 2001 season, when the Mariners equalled the all-time record for regular season wins with 116, but still somehow lost in five games to the New York Yankees in the ALCS. A much more recent example came last year with the M's at one point having a 10.0-game lead in the AL West, but ultimately falling one game short of the playoff places.

If there is ever a moment for the Mariners to prove they can be a clutch team, it's now with a talented, hard-working roster that has shown plenty of mental fortitude. It's time to turn around the narrative of being a hard luck franchise, which means not choking away this prime and very genuine opportunity for success deep into October and maybe ... just maybe ... a first ever appearance in the World Series.