After Yankees Series, Mariners' Patience and Schedule Will Start to Pay Off

The 20-game stretch following the All-Star Break has been brutal for the Mariners, littered with the Astros and Yankees. But following Wednesday's game against New York, Seattle will really see its opportunity to break through and snap its playoff drought.

The Mariners came out of the All Star break scorching hot, winners of 14 straight games. It is never realistic to keep a streak like that going, especially not when you run into teams of the caliber of the Astros and Yankees. 

The 20-game stretch following the break included 13 against Houston and New York, and seven against Texas and Anaheim. A stretch like that could really sink a team, but instead, Seattle has fought tooth and nail to stay afloat.

Battling through injuries to Julio Rodríguez, Ty France and many other important players to their lineup and pitching staff, the Mariners have gone 9-10 since the break. This is more than good enough, even if the majority of the wins came against the Rangers and Angels. 

Seattle has done well to position itself in the driver's seat heading into its easiest stretch of the season, schedule-wise. No matter what happens on Wednesday, the club will be in possession of a wild-card spot in the American League with 49 games left to play. 

Although the likes of the Orioles and Guardians are right on the Mariners' tail, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Seattle is getting healthy and in a hurry. Dylan Moore and Diego Castillo are rejoining the team Wednesday, and manager Scott Servais says Rodríguez will be back this weekend. 

As mentioned, the Mariners will face a much more favorable schedule than the other teams in the hunt. They will only have five more series against teams who currently have a winning record, including two series with the Guardians and one with the White Sox. 

Remaining schedules of SEA, TB, CLE, TOR, in that order side-by-side below the SOS:

SEA .453
CLE .480
TOR .514
TB .532 pic.twitter.com/mQabSC9laV

— Jason A. Churchill (@ProspectInsider) August 8, 2022

Meanwhile, Toronto and Tampa Bay will have to go through the gauntlet of the AL East. Cleveland will have to duel with Chicago and Minnesota for its playoff lives. Seattle has the majority of its remaining schedule against cellar-dwellers, as well as direct competition. 

Winning 30 more games gets the team to 90 wins, which is the same mark it got to last year. If Seattle can take care of business and stay healthy, it should be able get into the dance.