The Seattle Mariners entered this season focused on winning the American League West. It’s something they haven’t done in over two decades, with their last division crown coming during their magical 116-win campaign in 2001.
First-place Mariners sweep Texas and now hold MLB’s largest division lead
After a decisive sweep of the defending World Series champions, the first-place Mariners put themselves in prime position to finally end that drought.
Seattle completed a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers on Sunday and improved to 43-31, extending its lead atop the AL West to 8.5 games against Texas and nine games against the Houston Astros . This is the Mariners’ largest division lead at any time in a season since 2001.
The red-hot M’s have won seven of their last eight games and are a season-high 12 games above .500. Before embarking on a nine-game East Coast road trip, here are five things that stand out after their massive sweep of the Rangers:
M’s firmly in control of AL West
Last season, the Mariners, Astros and Rangers battled in the final weekend of the regular season for the AL West crown. Houston ended up winning the division against Texas in a head-to-head tiebreaker, while the Rangers made the playoffs as a wild card and won the World Series. Seattle was the odd one out, finishing two games behind their AL West rivals and falling just shy of the playoffs.
After last year’s near miss, the Mariners made it clear during spring training that their goal this season was to win the AL West. Thanks to a blistering push over the past three weeks and the continued struggles of their two biggest rivals, Seattle has taken control of the division race. According to FanGraphs, the Mariners now have a 79% chance of winning the West.
A big factor in Seattle’s 8.5-game lead in the division is its 17-5 record against AL West opponents, which is the best division record of any team in the majors. The Mariners are 5-1 against the Rangers and 5-2 against the Astros. Their five wins against Texas are already more than last year, when they were just 4-9 against the Rangers.
“Our guys know that,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said Friday. “You want to win the West, you have to beat the Texas teams. …You must take care of the affairs of your division. We’ve been talking about it all year. Everyone knows what our goals are – get to the playoffs, go deeper into the playoffs – but you have to take care of your division.
Spin Start Stops Texas
The Mariners’ starting rotation has been spectacular all season, but this might have been its finest moment yet. In a crucial series against probably its biggest threat to the division crown, Seattle’s starting pitchers completely shut down one of the most dangerous lineups in the game.
Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert combined to allow just two earned runs and nine hits in 20 innings, while totaling 22 strikeouts and just three walks. Castillo allowed two runs in the first inning of Friday’s series opener, but the Mariners’ trio of starters went the rest of the series without allowing an earned run. Gilbert capped it off with a sensational outing in Sunday’s series finale, pitching eight shutout innings on two hits with nine strikeouts and no walks. In six games against the Rangers this season, Seattle’s starting pitchers have combined for a 1.47 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 36 2/3 innings.
The dominant series on the mound came after the Mariners pushed their rotation back a day last week, when they called up Triple-A Tacoma’s Emerson Hancock to start Thursday’s series finale against the league-worst White Sox of Chicago of the MLB. The move gave Seattle’s starters a much-needed extra day off near the end of a grueling stretch of 43 games in 45 days. But it also allowed the Mariners to position their three best weapons against Texas, and the strategy worked to perfection.
“Their starters are the story of the series,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We just couldn’t do much against their starters. They have very good staff. You have to find ways to score points, and we had some tough times.
Interior defense shines
Coming into the season, defense was one of the main concerns for this Mariners team. After a shaky first week or two, Seattle certainly seems to have assuaged those doubts, particularly with its play on the field. Entering Sunday, the Mariners had a .986 fielding percentage, which ranked second in the AL.
Josh Rojas leads all MLB third basemen with six outs above average, according to Baseball Savant. JP Crawford leads all MLB shortstops with a .994 fielding percentage, with just one error in 160 total chances. Utility man Dylan Moore made a handful of scoring plays across the diamond. Rookie second baseman Ryan Bliss has made some good plays since his promotion earlier this month. And recently promoted first baseman Tyler Locklear made one of the most important plays of the weekend, sealing Saturday’s victory with a game-ending diving save.
“Terrific defense,” Servais said after Sunday’s series finale. “I can’t escape what our guys are doing defensively. All over here in this country, our guys were really focused.
Julio warming up?
The Mariners roster was designed with the idea that Julio Rodríguez would be the centerpiece. For much of this season, the 23-year-old center back hasn’t provided his typical superstar-caliber shot in the middle of the order. Through his first 52 games, he hit just .252 with just two home runs and a .606 OPS – a far cry from the 60 home runs and .834 OPS combined during his sensational first two seasons in 2022 and 2023.
But in recent weeks, Rodríguez’s bat has started to heat up. He’s hitting .305 with five home runs over his last 22 games, including two home runs over his last four games. That included a two-run blast to left-center field against two-time All-Star Nathan Eovaldi in Saturday’s 7-5 win over the Rangers.
“As the weather gets warmer, Julio starts to get warmer,” Servais said. “I love the fact that he shot the ball in the air. I think this year we saw it straight on and missed it or brought it up probably at least 10 times. And he didn’t miss it. So that’s a good sign. Julio is at his best when he plays freely, without thinking too much, just letting his abilities take over and being super competitive. And that’s what we’re seeing here right now.
Home advantage
The Mariners continue to excel in the friendly confines of T-Mobile Park. After finishing a 6-1 home game, Seattle is now 27-12 at home this season, tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the most home wins in the majors. Since mid-April, the Mariners have won nine straight home series.
According to Statcast, T-Mobile Park has the lowest park factor of any MLB stadium, meaning it is the most pitcher-friendly ballpark in the majors. This is directly part of the Mariners’ strengths, and they have taken full advantage of it. They have an MLB-best 2.54 ERA at home this season, having allowed just 100 earned runs in 39 home games.
And of course, it didn’t hurt to have over 40,000 fans at all three games this weekend.
“It definitely feels like a playoff atmosphere in mid-June, which is a little weird to say,” Gilbert said. “But the stadium was packed for all three games, the crowd went crazy. It’s a very good team. We are playing very well at the moment.
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