Thursday's Mariners' Loss to Guardians Unfortunately Had Added Significance

The Seattle Mariners lost to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, 6-3, and that loss unfortunately came with extra meaning. Here's why.

Seattle Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo (58) leaves the game against the Minnesota Twins in the seventh inning at Target Field on May 6. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Mariners lost 6-3 to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday afternoon, dropping the series after winning the opener.

The loss moved the M's to 44-33 on the season and though they remain 8.0 games up in the American League West, it came with some added significance.

See, by losing on Thursday, the M's are now 2-4 on the season against the Guardians. That means that should these two teams tie at the end of the year, the M's will finish behind Cleveland, and that could loom large.

Former M's reporter Larry Stone had outlined the situation before the game on Thursday.

Today's @Mariners game could end up having extra significance. The 2 division winners with the best record get 1st-round playoff byes. If the M's win today, they'll finish with a 3-3 record against Cleveland. Should those 2 teams end the year with the same overall record, (more)

Today's #Mariners game could end up having extra significance. The 2 division winners with the best record get 1st-round playoff byes. If the M's win today, they'll finish with a 3-3 record against Cleveland. Should those 2 teams end the year with the same overall record, (more)

— Larry Stone (@StoneLarry) June 20, 2024

Let's examine it further:

It could be the difference between a first-round bye and a date with the Yankees or Orioles

At this point, the American League East runner-up seems destined to be the top wild card team in the American League. If the M's get a top-two seed, they will avoid those teams because they will have a first-round bye. Should the M's and Guardians finish in a tie, Seattle could draw either of those teams by finishing as the third division winner and needing to play the top wild card team.

It also means the M's would need to play additional games in a wild card series, use additional pitching and wouldn't be able to set their rotation heading into the ALDS, should they advance that far.

It could be the difference between the playoffs and no playoffs

In a terrible scenario where both the M's and Guardians fall out of their divisional perches and are battling it out for the final wild card spot, the M's would miss out on the playoffs entirely.

The bright side of things

Look, there's no guarantee that the Guardians actually win the American League Central. They lead the Royals by 6.0 games at this point, but should they fall back, the M's did tie the Royals at 3-3 this season. They would likely own the tiebreaker on Kansas City because of other procedures.

Of course, the Mariners can alleviate all of these concerns by just winning as many games as possible from here on out and by taking advantage of a relatively soft schedule moving forward.

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