There’s not much left to play for.
The Mariners are scorching and have won 16 of 17 since the darkest days of the season just three weeks ago. They wrapped up the AL West on Wednesday, after punching their ticket to the playoffs on Tuesday. The last remaining box to check is a first-round bye in the playoffs, which can be done with either a win tonight or a Tigers win in Cleveland — the Tigers lead 4-2 in the ninth inning at the time of scheduling, so that may very well be wrapped up before first pitch in Seattle.
There remains several reasons to watch. The Mariners are ithin reach of the top seed in the American League. They’re also within reach of a variety of “best months ever” distinctions that would serve as a nice punctuation to season. Cal Raleigh can still pass Aaron Judge for the AL home run record. Eugenio Suárez can still get to 50 homers. Julio is closing in on a career season by fWAR. And hey, Leo Rivas is playing.
Emerson Hancock gets the ball tonight for the Mariners. He’s pitching in place of Bryan Woo, who left his last start with pectoral tightness; Kate Preusser reported Tuesday that Woo is unlikely to land on the injured list. Hancock has pitched out of the bullpen since the beginning of September with a 2.08 ERA and 2.56 FIP in six outings in his new role; he posted a 5.47 ERA and 5.65 FIP in 15 starts earlier in the year.
The Mariners have a minor lineup change after clinching a first-round bye with the Tigers win in Cleveland — Cal moves from catcher to DH, Polo moves from DH to 2B, and Garver moves from the bench to catcher, replacing Leo Rivas:
LF Arozarena
DH Raleigh
CF Rodríguez
1B Naylor
2B Polanco
3B Suárez
RF Canzone
C Garver
SS Crawford
First pitch: 6:40 PT
TV: ROOT Sports with Aaron Goldsmith & Ryan Rowland-Smith
Radio: Seattle Sports KIRO 710 AM with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.
