Mariners clinch playoff berth, close in on AL West title

Seattle – In the end, when they needed a big blow, it was Josh Naylor, the man who brought such a notable advantage to this booming Seattle Mariners team in the past two months, who has delivered it.

Its eighth round, double Tuesday evening, charged with three points, sparked a 4-3 victory, compared to the Rockies of Colorado, returned the navies to the playoffs and put them at dawn of a long-awaited division title. The last time the Mariners won the American League West was in 2001, a year underlined by 116 regular season victories. This can change on Wednesday, with another victory by them or another defeat of the Houston Astros.

But first, the navies have celebrated their first post -season bodies since 2022 – and hoped for much more.

“We want to do everything – and a big one at the end,” said Naylor, inflating on a cigar a few steps from a celebration of champagne and beer in the middle of the navy clubhouse. “With a nice parade in the city.”

Seattle remains the only Major League City current which has not yet organized a World Series match, but the team of this season continuously inspires hope for October.

Tuesday’s victory was the fifth of the consecutive navy and 15th in 16 games – immediately after a section of 6-15 who made the fans wondered if their team was ready for another slide at the end of the season. He followed a resounding scan at Houston, in which the navies never followed. And that makes them think that their best could be in front of them.

The spaved rotation of the navy – less Bryan Woo, breastfeeding a pectoral injury that the team hopes will not keep him away from the playoffs – is again dominant as as many people wait at the start of the season. Their alignment, reinforced by the addition of mid-season of Naylor and his compatriot Eugenio Suarez, product. Their enclosures of the lifts looks deadly. In a year when almost all teams have glaring weaknesses and have sailed difficult stretches, sailors argue to be the most complete.

“There is a lot of work to do, starting with the division,” said Dan Wilson, a longtime receiver from the navy in his first full season as a manager. “I hope that we will do it as soon as possible and that we continue. But there is a lot in advance on us. And this team, I think, is ready and started for that.”

The Navy won 90 games and fegged in the playoffs, ending a drought of 21 years in 2022. They followed by consecutive matches in Toronto during the Channel of the Joker, but lost three consecutive heartbreaking in the astros of the division series, the last a laundering of 18 rounds. In 2023, they ignited in September and were eliminated during the penultimate day of the regular season. In 2024, they showed an advance of 10 games in the division and were eliminated with three games to do.

“For the past two years have been very long,” said Mariners Cal Raleigh recipient. “Not to come back, it was hurtful. A lot of pain.”

This struggle, according to some players, helped produce this moment.

“These years have served his goal – to make us stronger,” said Mariners Center defender Julio Rodriguez. “To put us in a better position. To grow.”

Raleigh at some point put his arm around Jerry Dipoto, president of the navy of baseball operations, deplored the way they had just played eight sleeves of bad baseball, then moved attention. “Let’s win the World Series,” recalls Raleigh.

For seven rounds, the naval offensive has lagged behind against a launcher staff of the Rockies who owned the highest era in major leagues. They dragged 3-1 at the bottom of the eighth, but the relief of the Rockies Juan Mejia started the Channel by diving Luke Raley. JP Crawford followed with a walk, but Randy Arozarena and Raleigh struck. Rodriguez then took a quick ball of 1-2, 97.5 MPH of his left elbow guard, to load the bases.

Three locations later, Naylor – Reducing .292 / .333 / .486 Since he was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 24, seven days before Suarez also came from the D -Backs – sent a quick 2-0 ball to the left field gap, marking Rodriguez of the first base.

“It was like two seconds,” said Rodriguez. “It was like two seconds for me, honestly. As soon as I saw him hit the ball in the gap, I just started running.”

Andres Munoz, the lights of the Navy are getting closer, crossed the ninth, sending a T-Mobile Park crowd of 35,925 in jubilation. The navies improved at 49-27 at home. Their advance on the astros extended to four games with five to play. Their advance on the Guardians of Cleveland and Detroit Tigers, suddenly on equal in the Central, is three games for a Bye in the first round.

It has been almost a quarter of a quarter of a century since the navies won a home elimination match.

They want it as much as possible this year.

“We want to play at home,” said Rodriguez. “I don’t want to leave my neighborhood to play.”