Seattle Mariners Take First Place in American League West Thanks to Epic Stretch

The Seattle Mariners have made baseball history with how much ground they've made up recently in the American League West.

The Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals on Friday night by a score of 7-5.

With the win, the Mariners have officially caught the Texas Rangers and are now tied in the American League West race. Both teams are 72-56 and are 1.0 game ahead of the Houston Astros.

It's been an unreal and historic stretch for Seattle, who has won nine of its last 10 games.

Per @OptaSTATS on Twitter:

Through August 15, the @Mariners were 7.5 games out. Just 9 games later they are now tied for first. 

That's the largest deficit erased by any MLB team in fewer than 10 games to reach first (alone or tied) since the Dodgers made up a 7.5-game deficit in 8 games in August 1982.

Through August 15, the @Mariners were 7.5 games out. Just 9 games later they are now tied for first.

That's the largest deficit erased by any MLB team in fewer than 10 games to reach first (alone or tied) since the Dodgers made up a 7.5-game deficit in 8 games in August 1982. pic.twitter.com/DVCaEha6YQ

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 26, 2023

It's also the latest into a season the Mariners have been in first place since August of 2003. Seattle is seeking its second consecutive playoff berth and its Fangraphs odds for doing that are currently at 79.9 percent. They are also given a nearly 38 percent chance to win the division outright.

The M's were a wild card team in 2022 and beat the Toronto Blue Jays in the wild card round of the playoffs. They then lost to the Astros in the ALDS in three games.

The Mariners will take on the Royals again on Saturday afternoon at T-Mobile Park.

First pitch is set for 4:10 p.m. ET as righty Logan Gilbert pitches against Jordan Lyles (KC).

Gilbert is 11-5 with a 3.77 ERA while Lyles is 3-14.

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