Mariners will not be hosting playoff games this weekend
Oct 3, 2022, 4:19 PM | Updated: 10:07 pm
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 30: Julio Rodriguez #44 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates with fans after clinching a postseason birth after beating the Oakland Athletics 2-1 at T-Mobile Park on September 30, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Mariners have clinched a postseason appearance for the first time in 21 years, the longest playoff drought in North American professional sports. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Update 9:54 p.m.:
With the Mariners’ 4-3 loss to Detroit Monday night, Seattle will not be hosting any Wild Card playoff games.
However, if the M’s win two out of three against their Wild Card opponent this weekend, they’re guaranteed to host at least one home playoff game the following week in the American League Division Series.
This year, three Wild Card teams are advancing to the postseason. In the past, it was just one. With the New York Yankees and Houston Astros — the AL East and AL West Division winners, respectively — having clinched their spots in the second round of the playoffs, the first round will see the AL Central winner, the Cleveland Guardians, and the three Wild Card winners, the Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and Tampa Bay Rays, get narrowed down to two teams.
Based on how many games each of the three Wild Card teams have won this season, it’s looking like the Mariners will face the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend in the first round of playoff games.
“Cleveland, who won the AL Central, they have the worst record of the three division winners, so they face the worst Wild Card team for a three-game series that’s in Cleveland,” Brandon Gustafson of Seattle Sports explained. That worst Wild Card spot against the Guardians will likely go to Tampa, while Seattle will likely face Toronto.
In each match-up, the team with the higher number of wins gets that first round of the best-of-three playoff series on their home turf. Right now, Toronto is 91-69, while Seattle is 87-72. The Mariners cannot make up ground on Toronto with only three games left in the regular season.
“The way it’s looking right now, it’s that the Guardians are going to host the Rays for three games in Cleveland, and then Toronto is going to host the Mariners for two to three games in Toronto,” said Gustafson.
Then there is the fact that the team remaining at home gets to avoid all the hassles of travel that can affect one’s rest and wellness. From jet lag, to early flights, to sleeping in an unfamiliar hotel room instead of their own bed at home.
“You’re going across the border if you’re going to Toronto,” Gustafson said. “That’s a big deal, and obviously, that’s about as far as this Mariners team could travel, potentially.”
You can listen to each and every Mariners game this postseason on Seattle Sports and SeattleSports.com.
