For six years, the Seattle Mariners have been the sole members of a club nobody wants to be a part of.
When the Washington Nationals captured the National League pennant in 2019, it left the Mariners as the sole MLB team yet to reach a World Series.
It’s a dubious mark on a Mariners franchise that debuted nearly five decades ago in 1977.
But that club could be folding very soon.
The Mariners are closing in on their first World Series berth after beating the Blue Jays in Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS in Toronto.
The next three games of the seven-game playoff series, if required, will be held in Seattle, with the Mariners needing just two more wins to clinch the American League pennant.
“We know we have work to do,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “These series take on a life of their own. We’ve got plenty of work to do and need to stay focused on our goals.”
The M’s boast their share of all-time great players, from Ken Griffey Jr. to Randy Johnson to Alex Rodriguez to Edgar Martinez to Ichiro Suzuki.
Johnson and Rodriguez went on to win titles elsewhere — A-Rod famously with the Yankees — while Martinez and Ichiro were part of the 2001 Seattle squad that set an MLB record with 116 regular season victories.
But that 2001 season ended like so many others: in heartbreak. The Yankees needed only five games to eliminate the Mariners in the ALCS that year.
A 20-year playoff drought ensued. Even the Mariners’ postseason return in 2022 was brief, as they were swept in the ALDS by the eventual champion Houston Astros.
But this year could be different.
Seattle has already witnessed MLB history this year, as star slugger Cal Raleigh’s 60 home runs established single-season records for both a primary catcher and a switch-hitter.
The M’s boast perhaps baseball’s deepest rotation, with Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, Luis Castillo, and George Kirby all capable of dominating on a given night — and Bryce Miller proving he can do the same in Game 1 of the ALCS.
And it’s starting to look like destiny is on the Mariners’ side, never more so than in their 15-inning victory over the Detroit Tigers in the winner-take-all ALDS Game 5.
“I’m just so happy for the city,” Julio Rodriguez said after the M’s punched their ticket to ALCS, per MLB.com. “I don’t think there is any fanbase that is hungrier than Mariners fans.”
After defeating the Yankees in the ALDS in four games, the top-seeded Blue Jays were able to line their pitching up going into the ALCS.
The Mariners, meanwhile, exhausted their staff as their ALDS series went the distance.
Yet Seattle found ways to win both games in Toronto, where the Blue Jays were an AL-best 54-27 in the regular season and 2-0 in the previous round.
In the Mariners’ 3-1 victory in Game 1, Miller — who had a 5.68 ERA in the regular season — limited the Jays’ loaded lineup to one run over six innings, retiring 17 of the final 19 batters he faced.
In their 10-3 win in Game 2, the Mariners tagged rookie phenom Trey Yesavage for five runs in four innings. It was Yesavage’s first start since he struck out 11 Yankees over 5.1 hitless innings in the ALDS.
After the Blue Jays erupted for 34 runs over the four-game ALDS, they’ve totaled only four runs through two games of the ALCS. Toronto star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is 0-for-7 in the series after going 9-for-17 (.529) with three home runs, nine RBI and a 1.609 OPS in the last round against the Yankees.
“As long as you give your best effort, you can go to bed happy at night,” said Josh Naylor, who was one of three Mariners to homer in Game 2. “We have full belief in each other as teammates, as a full locker room, coaching staff included. We want to play hard. If you play hard, good things will happen.”
Kirby, who pitched to a 2.70 ERA in two ALDS starts, is scheduled to start Game 3 for Seattle on Wednesday, while Toronto turns to Shane Bieber, who gave up three runs (two earned) over 2.2 innings in his lone start against the Yankees.
Castillo, who hurled six scoreless innings over two ALDS appearances, is in line to start Game 4 on Thursday. The Jays have not announced a Game 4 starter, but they are expected to go with 41-year-old Max Scherzer, who pitched to a 5.19 ERA in the regular season and was left off of the ALDS roster.
Nobody in Seattle is celebrating yet, especially with the franchise’s long history of disappointment hanging overhead like a rain cloud.
But everything is set up for the Mariners as they return to T-Mobile Park, where they went 51-30 in the regular season.
“We know what that atmosphere is going to be like,” Wilson said. “We’re so excited to get out there. The fans really have been so tremendous. You can’t thank them enough for the force that they have been at the ballpark and at home. So we’re looking forward to getting back and feeling that energy.”
