After narrowly missing the playoffs last year, the Seattle Mariners entered this season laser-focused on winning the American League West. It’s something they haven’t accomplished in more than two decades, with their last division crown coming during their magical 116-win campaign in 2001.
First-place Mariners sweep Texas, now have MLB’s biggest division lead
With a statement-making sweep this weekend, the Mariners have put themselves in prime position to finally end that 23-year division title drought.
Seattle completed a three-game sweep of the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers on Sunday and built a commanding lead atop the AL West, moving 8.5 games ahead of Texas and nine games in front of the Houston Astros. It marks the Mariners’ largest division lead at any point in a season since 2001.
The red-hot M’s have won 15 of their past 21 games and are now 43-31, sitting a season-high 12 games over .500. Before they embark on a nine-game East Coast road trip, here are five things that stand out following their massive sweep of the Rangers:
M’s in firm control of AL West
Last season, the Mariners, Astros and Rangers battled into the final weekend of the regular season for the AL West crown. Houston ended up winning the division over Texas on a head-to-head tiebreaker, while the Rangers made the playoffs as a wild card and went on to win the World Series. Seattle was the odd one out, finishing two games behind their AL West rivals and falling just short of the postseason.
After last year’s near-miss, the Mariners made it clear in spring training that their goal this season was to win the AL West. Thanks to a red-hot surge over the past three weeks and the continued struggles of their two biggest rivals, Seattle has taken firm 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 division lead is its 17-5 record against AL West opponents, which is the best divisional record of any team in the majors. The Mariners are 5-1 against the Rangers and 5-2 against the Astros. Their five wins over Texas are already more than they had last year, when they went just 4-9 against the Rangers.
“Our guys know it. If you want to win the West, you’ve gotta beat the teams in Texas,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “And you need to keep focusing on that. … And we’ve talked about it all year long. Everybody knows what our goals are: Get into the playoffs, get deep in the playoffs. But you’ve gotta take care of your division.”
Starting rotation shuts down Texas
The Mariners’ starting rotation has been spectacular all season, but this might have been its finest moment yet. In a pivotal series against likely its biggest threat to a division crown, Seattle’s starting pitchers completely shut down one of the game’s more dangerous lineups.
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 gave up 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 with a sensational outing in Sunday’s series finale, tossing eight shutout innings of two-hit ball with nine strikeouts and no walks. In six games against the Rangers this season, Seattle starting pitchers have combined for a 1.47 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP in 36 2/3 innings.
The dominant series on the mound came after the Mariners pushed back their rotation by a day last week, when they called up Emerson Hancock from Triple-A Tacoma to start Thursday’s series finale against the MLB-worst Chicago White Sox. The move gave Seattle starters a much-needed extra rest day toward the tail end of a grueling stretch of 43 games in 45 days. But it also allowed the Mariners to position their top three arms against Texas, and the strategy worked to perfection.
“Their starters, that’s the story of the series,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We just couldn’t do too much against their starters. They have a really good staff. You’ve got to find ways to score runs, and we had a tough time.”
Infield defense is shining
Heading into the season, defense was one of the primary concerns surrounding this Mariners team. After a shaky first week or two, Seattle certainly seems to have quieted those doubts, especially with its infield play. Entering Sunday, the Mariners had a .986 infield fielding percentage, which ranked second in the AL.
Josh Rojas leads all MLB third basemen with six outs above average, according to Baseball Savant. J.P. Crawford leads all MLB shortstops with a .994 fielding percentage, with only one error in 160 total chances. Utilityman Dylan Moore has made a handful of highlight-reel plays across the diamond. Rookie second baseman Ryan Bliss has made some nice plays since being promoted earlier this month. And recently promoted first baseman Tyler Locklear made one of the weekend’s biggest plays, sealing Saturday’s victory with a game-ending diving stop.
“Tremendous defense,” Servais said after Sunday’s series finale. “I can’t get away from what our guys do defensively. Just all over the ballpark here in this homestand, our guys were really focused.”
Julio heating up?
The Mariners’ lineup was designed with the idea that Julio Rodríguez would be the centerpiece. For much of this season, the 23-year-old center fielder hasn’t provided his typical superstar-caliber thump in the middle of the order. Through his first 52 games, he was hitting just .252 with just two home runs and a .606 OPS – a far cry from the combined 60 homers and .834 OPS over his sensational first two seasons in 2022 and 2023.
But over the past few weeks, Rodríguez’s bat has started to heat up. He is hitting .305 with five home runs over his past 22 games, including two homers in his past four games. That included a two-run blast to left-center field off two-time All-Star Nathan Eovaldi in Saturday’s 7-5 win over the Rangers.
“As the weather heats up, Julio starts to heat up with it,” Servais said. “I just love the fact he pulled the ball in the air. I think that pitch, this year, we have seen him right on it and just miss it or pop it up probably at least 10 times. And he didn’t miss it. So it’s good signs there. Julio is at his best when he’s playing free, not thinking too much, just letting his ability take over and being super competitive. And that’s what we’re seeing here right now.”
Home-field advantage
The Mariners continue to excel within the friendly confines of T-Mobile Park. After completing a 6-1 homestand, Seattle is now 27-12 at home this season, which is tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the most home wins in the majors. Dating back to mid-April, the Mariners have won nine consecutive series at home.
According to Statcast, T-Mobile Park has the lowest park factor of any MLB stadium, which means it’s the most pitcher-friendly ballpark in the majors. That plays right into the Mariners’ strengths, and they’ve taken full advantage. 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 40,000-plus fans at all three games this weekend.
“It really feels like a playoff atmosphere in mid-June, which is kind of weird to say,” Gilbert said. “But the ballpark was packed all three games, the crowd’s going crazy. That’s a really good team. We’re playing really well right now.”
More on the Seattle Mariners
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• Mariners rookie Tyler Locklear making good early impressions
• Servais: Surging Mitch Garver will be ‘key’ to Seattle Mariners lineup
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
