The Seattle Mariners wrap up their three-game series in Los Angeles against the Angels on Sunday. Seattle continue to remain very much alive in the AL wildcard race and is closing in on clinching their first playoff berth since 2001. The Angels are once again in a lost season in the AL West and sit in fourth place, well out of the running for a playoff spot in a season filled with disappointment. On the mound on Sunday will be lefty Marco Gonzales (10-13, 3.89) of the Mariners taking on fellow lefty Reid Detmers (5-5, 3.82) of the Angels. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07pm EST.
It seems like ancient times since the Mariners last put together a playoff team. In fact, the last time they did it was way back in 2001. They would reach the AL Championship series before losing to the Yankees. No good-standing Mariners' fan would have predicted that, 21 years later, they would be the owners of the longest playoff drought in North American sports. It is little wonder that the Mariners and their fans are taking nothing to chance as they close in on a wildcard berth in the American League. On Friday night, the Mariners' playoff train was briefly knocked off the rails with an 8-7 loss to the Angels. Hoping to bounce right back, the Mariners
We'll look to bounce back tomorrow night at 6:07 p.m. pic.twitter.com/4CNzOKd7YH
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 17, 2022
While Seattle's bats have slowed somewhat, save for Friday night's outburst, their pitching has been topnotch since they pushed ahead of the pack towards a wildcard berth. Seattle's addition of Luis Castillo at the trade deadline has given the team one of the best starting rotations in baseball and a wonderful mix of left-right combos and power pitchers vs. deceptive pitchers. Since the trade deadline, the Mariners have a team ERA of 2.88 and have a WHIP of 1.08 and K/9 of 9.3. On the mound on Sunday will be lefty Marco Gonzales. Gonzales has ten wins for the Mariners and has been outstanding down the stretch. He is 2-1 with an ERA of 2.67 while allowing just 23 hits in over 30 innings of work in that time. He is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two starts against the Angels this season.