The Mariners are playing meaningful games in the final weekend of the season, which is a remarkable feat for a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2001. The Mariners are also, however, barely still alive having picked a pretty bad time to hit one of their worst stretches of the season, losing 12 of 17 and five in a row before winning in Toronto Thursday.
Even a mediocre finish over past two weeks would have put the Mariners in great shape heading into this final series against the Angels, but instead Seattle comes into Friday’s game two games behind Oakland and three behind Kansas City in the Wild Card race with three games to play and room in the postseason for only two of those three teams.
“The fact that we are still in it, I’m very pleased about that,” Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. “We’ve got a chance, we’ll see what happens. We’ve just got to go out and take care of business. I’m not worried about the other components. The No. 1 thing we’ve got to do is go out and win.”
“Our guys understand what’s at stake. Hopefully we go out and play well.”
And while it’s impossible to ignore that the Mariners likely killed their playoff hopes with their recent five-game losing streak, they’re heading into tonight’s game clinging to hope that a strong finish, and yes a little help, can make for a memorable finish.
“That’s exciting,” third baseman Kyle Seager said of still being in the Wild Card race. “A lot of people didn’t give us a chance to be in this position. We’re playing meaningful games at the end of the year, we still have a chance to get into the postseason, so we’re all excited for that.”
“Where we’ve been, that’s something that’s really special, and we’re going to continue to fight and not take that lightly.”
Added catcher Mike Zunino: “We still have a chance and we know what we need to take care of. Obviously we didn’t play good baseball, but that’s in the past and we’ve got three games we can control here.”
As for the notion of scoreboard watching, both McClendon and his players acknowledge that it’s impossible not to pay attention to what’s going on. Heck, they even put the A’s-Rangers game on the giant Mariners Vision video board while batting practice was still underway. With the A’s and Kansas City both starting their games—at Texas and at Chicago, respectively—two hours before Seattle’s 7:10 first pitch, players will have an idea of what’s at stake well before their game is over. But regardless of what happens in Chicago and Texas, nothing changes on the field, they say.
“We know where we’re at, we know what needs to happen,” Seager said. “But whether we’re scoreboard watching or not, we still give the same effort.”
Staying alive tonight will likely require a strong performance from Hisashi Iwakuma, who has struggled recently while dealing with a stiff back and groin. McClendon was honest when asked what kind of performance he’s expecting out of Iwakuma.
“I don’t know,” He said. “I honestly don’t know. His last three outings have not been very good. I’m anxious to see what he’s going to bring to the table. I know he’s very determined and he wants to do well. We’ll see. Hopefully he’s feeling good.”
And despite Thursday’s all-bullpen game, don’t expect anyone to be held out if needed in this game or the next three.
“Everybody’s fine the rest of the year,” McClendon said. “It was it is. All hands on deck. They’ll be ready to go.”
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