American League Playoff Tracker (Aug. 16): Mariners In Gut-Check Situation in Playoff Race
The Seattle Mariners are set to begin the second leg of a nine-game road trip at 3:40 p.m. PT on Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Mariners are in a gut-check situation. After getting swept by the Detroit Tigers — Seattle is three games back in the American League West standings and 3.5 games behind for the final AL Wild Card spot. The Mariners are set to take on Pirates rookie phenom Paul Skenes on Friday.
What happened on Thursday:
SEATTLE: Victor Robles accounted for the only hit for the Mariners on Thursday in a 2-1 loss against the Tigers. Javier Baez hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth that led to Detroit's win. The home run came against Seattle All-Star reliever Andres Munoz. It was the first hit and earned run allowed by Munoz in over a month.
HOUSTON: The Houston Astros had an off-day on Thursday after sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays. They're set to begin a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox at 5:10 p.m. PT on Friday.
AL West standings in real time
This is where the AL West standings stood after Thursday's action. The Mariners have 40 games left this season and the Astros have 42.
Team | Record | Games back |
|---|---|---|
Astros | 65-55 | -- |
Mariners | 63-59 | 3.0 |
As for the Wild Card standings — the Kansas City Royals also had a day off on Thursday after beating the Minnesota Twins 4-1 on Wednesday. The Boston Red Sox lost 5-1 to the AL East's first-place Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. Here's a look at the race for the third Wild Card spot:
Team | Record | Games back |
|---|---|---|
Royals | 66-55 | -- |
Red Sox | 63-57 | 2.5 |
Mariners | 63-59 | 3.5 |
Friday's scheduled action
SEATTLE: Logan Gilbert (7-8, 2.91 ERA) will get the start for the Mariners against Pittsburgh and Paul Skenes (6-2, 2.25) at 3:40 p.m. PT.
HOUSTON: Spencer Arrighetti (5-10, 5.14) will get the start for the Astros against Garrett Crochet (6-9, 3.65) of the White Sox at 5:10 p.m. PT.
KANSAS CITY: Michael Lorenzen (5-6, 3.79) will start for the Royals against the Cincinnati Reds' Nick Martinez (6-5, 3.16) at 3:40 p.m. PT.
BOSTON: Brennan Bernardino (4-3, 3.79) will start for the Red Sox against Orioles ace Corbin Burnes (12-4, 2.71) at 4:05 p.m. PT.
What's left on the season?
SEATTLE: at Pittsburgh Aug. 16-18, at Los Angeles Dodgers Aug. 19-21. Home vs. San Francisco Aug. 23-25, Home vs. Tampa Bay Aug. 26-28, at Los Angeles Angels Aug. 30-Sept. 1, at Oakland Sept. 2-5, at St. Louis Sept. 6-8, home vs. San Diego Sept. 10-11, home vs. Texas Sept 12-15; home vs. New York Yankees Sept. 17-19, at Texas Sept. 20-22, at Houston Sept. 23-25, home vs. Oakland Sept. 27-29.
HOUSTON: home vs. Chicago White Sox Aug. 16-18, home vs. Boston Aug 19-21, at Baltimore Aug. 22-25, at Philadelphia Aug. 26-28, home vs. Kansas City Aug. 29-Sept. 1, at Cincinnati Sept. 2-5, home vs. Arizona Sept. 6-8, home vs. Oakland Sept. 10-12, at Los Angeles Angels Sept. 13-15, at San Diego Sept. 16-18, home vs. Los Angeles Angels Sept. 19-22, home vs. Seattle Sept. 23-25, at Cleveland Sept. 27-29.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
TIGERS SWEEP MARINERS: The Detroit Tigers completed a three-game series sweep against the Seattle Mariners with a 2-1 win on Thursday. CLICK HERE
MILLER LEADING THE LEAGUE IN THIS STAT: Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller had his eighth outing of over five or more scoreless innings pitched on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers — the most in the league. CLICK HERE
MUNOZ'S STREAK COMES TO AN END: All-Star reliever Andres Munoz let up his first run and hit in over a month in the Seattle Mariners 2-1 loss against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. CLICK HERE
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