Seattle, WA
No Longer Sleepless In Seattle, Mariners Move Toward First Title
After hosting the 2023 All-Star Game at T-Mobile Park, the Seattle Mariners are now making a serious run at the World Series.
The only one of the 30 teams that has never won a pennant, the M’s have had mostly losing seasons since joining the American League as an expansion team in 1977. In fact, they have reached the post-season only five times in 26 seasons.
This year, pre-season prognosticators gave the team only an outside chance to dethrone the defending World Champion Houston Astros in the American League West.
When Seattle started poorly, most experts took an attitude of I-told-you-so. They pointed to the payroll, which ranks just 17th among the 30 clubs at $180.8, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Three of their AL West rivals – the Astros, Angels, and Rangers – all pay their players more.
On June 30, the Mariners were 38-42 and 10 games out of first place. Even defending AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez was prompting whiskers about a sophomore jinx.
But then all the pieces fell into place. J-Rod started to hit, the M’s started to win, and the front-running Texas Rangers, along with the Astros, started to stumble. As August morphed into September, Seattle slew all comers.
Its 72-56 record on Aug. 27 gave the club a piece of the penthouse – the first time since Aug. 26, 2003 it had reached the top of the divisional standings so late in a season.
“It’s been a long time,” said manager Scott Servais, a former catcher who has been at the helm since 2016. “It’s a credit to our players, staff, and organization. We got off to a really rough start this year after really high expectations. And we have a lot of baseball yet to play.”
The in-season comeback reminded many observers of the 1995 Mariners, a middle-of-the-pack team that caught fire late, took the AL West title on the last day, and then defeated the favored Yankees in a five-game Division Series before losing the Championship Series to Cleveland.
Seattle fans still haven’t recovered from 2001, when the Mariners won an AL-record 116 games but lost to the Yankees in the ALCS – depriving them of their closest brush with a World Series.
Looming ahead are season-ending series against the Rangers and Astros, a 10-game stretch that will test all three teams. In the meantime, the Mariners mean to put some distance between them and their closest rivals.
When the team topped the Oakland Athletics in Seattle with a come-from-behind, 5-4 win earlier this week, it was a club-record 21st victory in a single month – topping 20-win months in 1995, 1997, and 2001 (three times). All those teams made it to the playoffs.
Rodriguez, the fleet center-fielder, has led the resurgence. On track for a rare 30/30 season, he just passed Alex Rodriguez as the fastest Mariner to reach 50 career homers.
“I’m just happy I’m able to help this team win, help the stretch we’ve got going and just kind of keep this winning streak going,” said Rodriguez, who is not related to A-Rod. “That’s honestly everything that matters to me.”
Over one stretch of 62 at-bats, the 22-year-old slugger hit .516 with five homers, six doubles, 13 runs scored, and 21 runs batted in, plus four walks and eight stolen bases.
He even passed Toronto’s Dante Bichette for the American League lead in hits – after collecting 28 in 10 games, the best any player has done since Kenny Lofton in 1997.
Although he enjoyed the hot streak, he said he doubted he could duplicate the feat of former Mariner Ichiro Suzuki, who once collected 56 hits in a month.
In addition to Rodriguez, a major reason for the Mariners’ surge was the sudden influx of talented new blood. Infielder Josh Rojas, obtained from Arizona with outfielder Dominic Canzone for closer Paul Sewald at the Aug. 1 trade deadline, has been a breath of fresh air. So have outfielders Dylan Moore and Cade Marlowe.
“Hitting is a lot easier when you know the lineup is on fire,” said Rojas, who arrived from Arizona with no home runs but quickly banged three for Seattle.
During the month of August, the Mariners trailed only the National League’s Atlanta Braves in generating an overpowering offense.
Rodriguez, Teoscar Hernandez, Eugenio Suarez, and Cal Raleigh have been the main run-producers during the run, with Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Luis Castillo leading a solid starting rotation.
In Castillo, Kirby, and J-Rod, Seattle had three All-Stars for the first time since the 2018 Mariners had four.
In retrospect, it’s amazing the club has survived serious injuries to projected pitching ace Robbie Ray, sidelined by Tommy John elbow surgery, and outfielder Jarred Kelenic, out with a fractured foot.
The M’s have also survived the impulses of general manager Jerry Dipoto, widely considered the most active trader of any team executive.
Other than the Rojas trade, he was uncharacteristically quiet at the deadline. Maybe he had an inkling of good things to come.
Seattle, WA
Game Recap: Seahawks Dominate Cardinals, Seize NFC West Lead
A dominant defensive performance led by defensive lineman Leonard Williams, safety Coby Bryant and cornerback Devon Witherspoon ended the Arizona Cardinals’ four-game win streak in a 16-6 Seattle Seahawks victory on Sunday at Lumen Field.
Seattle (6-5, 2-2 NFC West) took over first place in the division just two weeks after sitting in last coming out of their Week 10 bye. Arizona (6-5, 2-1 NFC West) was held to a season-low six points after averaging 26.3 points per game over their last four games.
The Seahawks played arguably their most complete defensive game of the season, with standout performances across the board. Williams, Bryant and Witherspoon, however, were the catalysts.
Williams posted his best game as a Seahawk, logging six tackles, three tackles for loss, one batted pass, four quarterback hits and 2.5 sacks. Bryant had six tackles and a key pick-six that helped originally give Seattle a two-score lead in the third quarter. Witherspoon forced that errant throw via pressure on Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and finished with five total tackles.
In consecutive weeks, the Seahawks held the San Francisco 49ers and Cardinals — both divisional opponents — to under 300 total yards. Though the offense wasn’t as productive as in recent weeks, the defense picked up the slack.
Seattle’s offense struggled to generate consistent offense in the first half. The Seahawks punted on their first four drives, allowing three sacks of Smith and picking up just 72 total yards during those possessions.
But the defense kept the Cardinals in check, forcing Arizona to punt on four of their first five drives. Nothing came easy for Arizona’s ground game, which entered the contest as one of the league’s top rushing attacks.
As a result, the Cardinals leaned on Murray’s arm in the first half. That brought some chunk plays, but also inconsistency with Seattle’s pass rush looking as good as it has all season. Murray was sacked three times in the first half and completed 10 of 17 passes for 107 yards (24-of-37 passing for 285 yards and an interception in the game).
The Seahawks, trailing 3-0, finally ripped off a chunk play just before the two-minute warning on a tunnel screen to Smith-Njigba, who caught the ball just behind the line of scrimmage and ran for a 46-yard gain to Arizona’s 4-yard line.
Smith-Njigba (team-high six catches for 77 yards) finished off the drive two plays later via a 3-yard touchdown pass from Smith, giving Seattle its first lead of the game, 7-3. That was also Seattle’s lead at halftime.
The defense continued to dominate for the Seahawks in the third quarter. Arizona, on its first drive of the second half, was forced into a 4th and 1 from Seattle’s 40-yard line.
Murray faked a handoff and rolled out to his right with pressure from Witherspoon. Forced into a bad throw, Murray tossed the ball to the waiting arms of safety Bryant, who returned it 69 yards for a touchdown down the left sideline — paying homage to former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch with a groin grab as he jumped backward into the end zone.
The Seahawks continued making life hard for Murray on Arizona’s next drive. Williams kept dominating, generating two negative plays for the Cardinals which included Seattle’s fourth sack of Murray on the day. It finished with five sacks in the game.
Seattle then mounted its longest offensive drive of the day to that point via 11 plays. But Smith’s 12th interception of the season ended what could have been a possession that nearly put the game away.
Rolling out to his right, Smith had a rush lane ahead of him and, instead of staying that course, he tried to rifle a pass into wide receiver Tyler Lockett in the end zone. Cardinals cornerback Garrett Williams plucked it out of the air to get the ball back for Arizona at their own 20-yard line.
Murray and the Cardinals put together their own long drive in response. Eleven plays and 76 yards later, Arizona was forced to kick a short field goal after Seattle’s defense made a goal line stand. However, on a third-down rush that fell short of the goal line, Murray was shaken up and evaluated in the medical tent.
Now leading 13-6 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb opted to keep throwing the football. That resulted in a near-second interception thrown by Smith off a pass that went off Walker’s hands. The call was overturned, however, as Cardinals linebacker Kyzir White couldn’t get his hands under the football.
Seattle converted three critical third downs on that drive alone as they drove just 49 yards in 12 plays to churn eight minutes off the clock. It was enough to get inside Jason Myers’ range, though, and the Seahawks kicker made it a two-score game, 16-6, with 1:56 left on a 50-yard field goal.
With little time left to operate and Murray back in the field, the Cardinals were forced to try a 47-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining. Even if Ryland converted, Arizona’s chance of recovering an onside kick and scoring a touchdown was slim. He missed, and Smith kneeled out the victory for Seattle, finishing the game 22-of-31 passing for 254 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The Cardinals entered the game averaging the fifth-most rushing yards per game (149.4). Against that threat, the Seahawks held the Cardinals to just 49 yards on the ground — a season-best for Seattle.
Arizona’s lead backs James Conner and Trey Benson rushed for just 26 yards on 11 carries. For the fourth-straight game since joining the Seahawks via trade, inside linebacker Ernest Jones IV totaled double-digit tackles (10) and rookie fourth-round pick Tyrice Knight added nine tackles in addition to his first NFL sack.
Seattle’s run defense was a liability through eight games, giving up an average of 148.4 rush yards per game. They’ve allowed an average of 82.3 yards on the ground in the last three games.
After winning their first two games at home this season, the Seahawks came into Week 12 on a four-game home skid. The win over the Cardinals was Seattle’s first win at Lumen Field since Sept. 22.
The Seahawks have just two games this season where they haven’t allowed a touchdown, and both have now been in home games (24-3 Week 3 win vs. Miami Dolphins).
The Seahawks were without power at the VMAC, their team practice facility, for 2.5 days after a major storm hit the Seattle region on Tuesday night. They were without hot water and lights in their locker room in addition to other limitations around the building.
That forced the team to adjust its preparation for the Week 12 game against Arizona. Getting out of an odd week with a victory is a win in itself for the team.
Seattle travels to face the New York Jets (3-8) at 10 a.m. PST in a Week 13 road game at MetLife Stadium. The Seahawks are riding a two-game winning streak for the first time since Week 2.
The Jets have lost seven of their last eight games and enjoyed a bye in Week 12. New York lost 31-6 to Arizona in Week 10 while the Seahawks were on their bye.
Rapid Reaction: Leonard Williams, Seahawks Feast on Cardinals in 16-6 Win
Halftime Observations: Seahawks Engaged in Defensive Slog, Lead Cardinals 7-3
Seahawks RG Anthony Bradford Doubtful to Return vs. Cardinals
Noah Fant Among Seahawks Inactives vs. Cardinals
Game Predictions: Seahawks Week 12 vs. Cardinals
Seattle, WA
The Seattle Mariners May Need to Make Really Uncomfortable Moves to Get Better in 2025
The Seattle Mariners are in a very tough position as we head deeper into this offseason.
First, the M’s went 85-77 last season, missing the playoffs by just one game. They are clearly a good team, but they are good team that needs to make some improvements in order to be great.
Unfortunately, those improvements may be hard to come by. Seattle has holes at second base, third base and in the bullpen, and they apparently only have $16 million or so to spend this offseason. It’s already been reported as a “likelihood” that either Justin Turner or Carlos Santana return to the roster, so that signing will eat up a significant chunk of that money.
Thus, how do the M’s go about filling those needs with what could amount to just five or six million? They will have to do something that is very uncomfortable, in one way or the other.
In order to acquire a solid offensive player, who is also affordable, the M’s could have to part with one of their young pitchers. The team has repeatedly said they don’t want to do that, but it’s one of a small handful of ways to get affordable offense. Of course, by doing that, you’d be making the pitching staff worse.
More likely, but also uncomfortable, is that the M’s try to trade Mitch Haniger. Owed more than $15 million, Haniger is coming off a season in which he hit only .208. No team will take on that salary for that kind of production, so in order to move him, the M’s would have to attach a top prospect to the deal.
Remember what they did last year, trading Jarred Kelenic in order to shed Evan White and Marco Gonzales’s contract? You could see the exact same thing, and for a team that has worked hard to build its farm system, it’s going to hurt.
But it might be the only option to open up money so the team can get the kind of players it needs to fully compete.
Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.
Seattle, WA
Seattle Sounders stun LAFC to reach Western Conference Final | MLSSoccer.com
Seattle Sounders FC have reached the Western Conference Final in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, completing a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory over LAFC in Saturday’s elimination match at BMO Stadium.
Sounders striker Jordan Morris scored a 109th-minute winner in the second extra-time period, ending his team’s 10-game winless streak against the Black & Gold (stretching back to May 2021). Stefan Frei was also immense for the Sounders, making nine saves to repeatedly frustrate Denis Bouanga and his teammates.
Before Morris’ dramatics, Seattle clawed back into the game when Maxime Chanot failed to clear Obed Vargas’ centering pass and scored an own goal. That equalizer followed Ryan Hollingshead opening the scoring in the 50th minute, one-timing home Mateusz Bogusz’s low cross near the penalty spot.
Up next, Seattle will face the winner of Sunday’s Western Conference Semifinal between LA Galaxy and Minnesota United FC (6 pm ET | MLS Season Pass; FS1, FOX Deportes). Their Conference Final is set for Nov. 30; Seattle (No. 4) will travel if LA (No. 2) advance and host if Minnesota (No. 6) complete yet another upset.
Goals
- 50′ – LAFC – Ryan Hollingshead | WATCH
- 59′ – SEA – Maxime Chanot (OG) | WATCH
- 109′ – SEA – Jordan Morris | WATCH
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