Elimination finally wrapped its arms around the
Mariners in Game 162 on Sunday afternoon — although that in itself was a considerable accomplishment, even if it didn’t feel that way in the moment.
It wasn’t one calamitous moment Sunday that conspired to end the Mariners’ season just shy of reaching the postseason for the first time in two decades. It was more like 1,000 paper cuts inflicted by the
Angels.
In the end, though, it all probably hurt just the same.
The Angels came out swinging on Sunday, sinking the Mariners’ postseason hopes by scoring early and often in a 7-3 decision before a sold-out crowd of 44,229 at T-Mobile Park, the third sell-out in as many days.
The Mariners, who won 90 games for the first time since 2003, were left on the outside looking in on baseball’s postseason party, as they dropped two of three games to the Angels (77-85). The sting will likely persist for some time.
But the overall sentiment Sunday, long after the ballpark had cleared and the players had retreated to the clubhouse one final time, was that the Mariners took a momentous step forward in 2021, exceeding expectations and laying the groundwork for what should be a critical offseason.
“Wow, what a season for the Mariners and our group really taking a step forward organizationally,” Seattle manager
Scott Servais said. “Our future is very, very bright here. I say all that and you’re still disappointed today to get that close and not cross the finish line and break through to the playoffs.”
The Mariners entered the day tied with the
Blue Jays and one game back of the
Yankees and
Red Sox for the two American League wild-card spots. They had faced a long list of potential tiebreaker scenarios that could have seen them get into the postseason. As it turned out, the Yankees and Red Sox both won, eliminating Seattle prior to the end of Sunday’s game.
Chaos Ball, as it turns out, wasn’t so chaotic after all.
The Angels jumped on Mariners starting pitcher
Tyler Anderson for two runs in the first and chased the left-hander by scoring two more runs in the second. It was a sour start to an important game, and certainly unexpected after the way Anderson had pitched since being obtained from the
Pirates at the trade deadline.
“The ball didn’t have a lot of zip on it,” Servais said. “But they hit him, too.”
Even after Anderson was gone, the Mariners couldn’t stop the bleeding. The Angels added two more runs in the fourth inning and another run in the fifth and manager Joe Maddon used seven pitchers to cover the rest of the way, which helped prevent the Mariners from finding a way to get what would have been their 45th comeback victory of the season.
“We just weren’t able to get the big hit today,” Servais said. “You need few breaks when you’re down in a game like that, you need a few things to go your way. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Down 2-0 before they even had a chance to bat, rookie
Jarred Kelenic and leadoff hitter J.P. Crawford had RBI singles in the second inning to make it 4-2 and then Crawford knocked in another run in the sixth, but Seattle was shut out the rest of the way.
There was an interesting development in the ninth inning, though.
When it became apparent the Mariners were eliminated, Servais called for a timeout when his team was on defense to take out veteran third baseman
Kyle Seager, who is in the final year of his contract. Seager, who had already been serenaded by fans earlier in the inning, stopped and hugged teammates near the mound before leaving to a standing ovation.
Seager, the longest-tenured Mariner who made his debut in 2011, had a curtain call and had trouble holding back the tears at times, so much so that he gave up on trying to stop them from flowing.
“I was pretty much a mess,” Seager said.
This was a way for the Mariners to honor Seager, who eventually will go into the team’s Hall of Fame. He’s in the top five in several offensive categories and if this is indeed his final season in Seattle — the team does hold a $20 million option for 2022 they are expected to pass on — he’ll finish fourth in club history with 1,480 games — trailing only Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro and Edgar Martinez.
“What Kyle for me has brought is consistency and the ability to write his name in the lineup every day,” Servais said. “I think a lot of our players learn that from him. Players seeing that, and the value of that … if you want to put up numbers in this game, you’ve got to play and you’ve got to play every day. And it is hard to do that.”
At the end of the season, the Mariners were playing as well as anyone in baseball. That’s not just anecdotal, either. They went 31-17 down the stretch, winning 12 of their final 15 games to ensure that Game 162 actually meant something.
“The run we’ve been on the last three weeks was amazing,” Kelenic said.
And while this loss and the missed opportunity to break into the postseason will hurt, Servais and the Mariners feel they are making inroads to becoming what they want to become — a perennial contender. This season saw the growth of several young players like Kelenic, pitcher
Logan Gilbert and the continued rise of Crawford and
Ty France.
Ninety wins in the third year of the rebuild has left the Mariners wanting more.
“I bet a lot of people, coming into this season, said we had no chance in hell of winning 90 games,” Servais said. “It’s been quite a ride. It was a fantastic season. The last three or four weeks, when everyone counted us out, we kept winning ballgames. We found different ways to do it.”
When it was over Sunday, the players lingered on the field, throwing T-shirts and other items to fans who stuck around. It almost felt like the players didn’t know what to do with themselves, and couldn’t bring themselves to head back to the clubhouse one last time. Because doing so would have meant goodbye.
“I know it’s going to sting for a while, this loss, not getting to the postseason this year,” Kelenic said. “But I know it’s not going to be something I ever forget. I hope those fans that came out, I hope they never forget, either. That vibe on the field and in that clubhouse is indescribable.”
The Mariners have considerable work to do to augment their roster if they are to get over that postseason hump. They need offense, among other things. But there’s a strong core already here and a wave of young talent that’s not far off, that could make these Mariners not only interesting but potentially dangerous.
And, based on the crowds this weekend at T-Mobile Park, there’s obvious support from the community. Fans in the Pacific Northwest want a winner — they want a consistent winner. The four banners that hang in the right-field rafters at the ballpark haven’t had new company since 2001.
Maybe this season was that first step toward building something special?
“Getting 40,000 people in T-Mobile Park and feeling the energy that they brought was tremendous, not only for our team and the organization but for the community,” Servais said. “Baseball is back in Seattle.”