The last time the Seattle Mariners made the playoffs the best player in their franchise’s history was a rookie. Now Ichiro Suzuki is 48 years old and has been retired for years. Over two decades later they are back, and they look phenomenal.
Once again it is a rookie leading the way for the M’s. Julio Rodriguez is a superstar in the making. The 21-year-old native of Loma De Cabrera, Dominican Republic exploded onto the scene this season making electrifying plays both at the plate and in the field.
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2001, THE MARINERS ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS‼️
In 2001, Ichiro was a rookie. Now they're led by another rookie phenom, Julio Rodriguez 🤩 pic.twitter.com/7UYda0f9gC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 1, 2022
There were no expectations for this team to go on a playoff run but as the season progressed fans started to wonder, could this be the year we finally get back to the post-season? Nobody who follows this team wanted to get their hopes up but as each week of the season passed it started to look more and more likely.
This weekend the Mariners faced off against the Toronto Blue Jays in a three-game series on the road. The Blue Jays finished two games ahead of them in the standings meaning the Mariners would have to visit Rogers Center.
The Blue Jays were favoured to win but all that did was motivate Seattle even more. This team has been used to being underrated for years and they thrived on it this weekend.
In game one their trade deadline acquisition Luis Castillo pitched a gem of 7+ innings and the Mariners upset Toronto 4-0 at home. Now they needed just one more win to advance to the divisional round.
On Saturday we saw former Cy Young winner for the Blue Jays Robbie Ray pitch against Toronto versus the man the Jays brought in to replace him, Kevin Gausman.
Ray’s return did not go as planned. He gave up four runs in four innings and the Blue Jays got out to an 8-1 lead. Despite the rocky start from Ray the Mariners didn’t quit and they stormed all the way back to tie the game 9-9 before the ninth inning.
Toronto completely imploded and Seattle had all the momentum. The 51 000 fans at Rogers center were silent. Adam Frazier hit an RBI double in the top of ninth to give the M’s their first lead of the day and they didn’t look back.
George Kirby closed it out in the bottom half and sent the Mariners to the divisional round. The story of the 2022 Seattle Mariners isn’t over yet. Next stop Houston.