Since the beginning of the century, no team has put their fanbase through more than the Seattle Mariners. Now, they did have a record-setting regular season in 2001, where they won 116 games. It was the most by any team in a single season. However, since then, it’s been all downhill from there. They lost the ALCS in five games to the Yankees. They then fail to make the postseason again until 2022. 21 straight seasons of missing the playoffs, the fifth longest in MLB history.
Going into this season, the Mariners were projected to finish in second place, fighting for a wild-card spot. So far this season, things have gone decently for the Mariners. They have a record of 45-35 and are six games up on the Astros. They’re also the only team with a winning record. However, despite the early success, problems are starting to surface for Seattle.
Mariners Recent Struggles
The Mariners have fallen into a little bit of a slump over the past week. In their last six games, they have dropped four of them. They have also lost both series they played over the past week. Now, earlier in the week, they dropped a three-game series to the Guardians. Now, sure, you want to show you’re able to beat playoff teams. However, losing one series doesn’t signal trouble. What does is when you lose two out of three to one of the worst teams in baseball. The Mariners dropped this past weekend’s series to the Marlins. This should make any Seattle baseball fans nervous. It’s not just good teams, it’s bad teams beating up on them.
Things only get worse when you start to look at their record splits. The first one being is that they have a losing record on the road. So far this season, they’re 18-23 when away from T-Mobile Park. The only first-place team with a losing record on the road. Sure, it’s supposed to be harder to win on the road. However, if you can’t win on the road, it shows there are deeper issues. These concerns increase when you see they have a 14-19 record against teams above .500. When the competition gets tougher, they fold.
The Division is Getting Better
Struggles are nothing new for baseball teams. In a 162-game season, there are going to be highs and lows. However, the reason why these struggles are so concerning is because of the rise of the Astros and Rangers. To start, the Astros have been on a tear recently. Since the start of June, the Astros are 13-7. The team is starting to look more like the team we’re used to them being. They’ve also gone through the hard part of their schedule and have the fourth-easiest schedule remaining. An easy schedule plus a red-hot Astros team can make the Mariners six-game lead evaporate quickly.
It’s not just the Astros who will be challenging the Mariners. The defending world champions, Texas Rangers are starting to get their star players back. Earlier this month, they activated Jon Gray off the IL, giving them a little help and stability to the rotation. However, the major addition came this past weekend when Max Scherzer was activated. Scherzer will give this rotation the edge it needs. It provides them with a legit ace that can turn this rotation around. Scherzer isn’t the only ace the Rangers hope to get back, as Jacob deGrom is slated to come back in August. With those two at the top of the rotation, the Rangers can beat any team despite how good the roster is. That means two really good teams will be fighting the struggling Mariners during the pennant race. Something that should make Seattle fans terrified.
Thanks for reading! Credit for my feature image goes to Jason Miller. You can find more MLB content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on Twitter/X.
