The Seattle Mariners that surged in September to their first AL West title in 24 years were a complete team.
They pitched.
They fielded.
They hit.
The Seattle Mariners that showed up in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night were nearly there. There was just one thing that was incomplete: the hitting, with their six total hits coming from only Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh.
That was the ballgame.
As evidenced by the 3-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers in extra innings, two runs on six hits is probably not going to be enough to win in October. And the other thing about October is when you lose a game in a best-of-five series, you start feeling like your back is up against the wall pretty quick.
What’s next for the Mariners after tough Game 1 loss
That’s certainly the case for Seattle. It now faces a daunting task: beat reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal in Game 2 on Sunday, or else you’re heading to Detroit for Game 3 on Tuesday just one loss away from your season ending in a hurry.
That’s not the way things should end for this Mariners team.
They made the moves to fill holes before the MLB trade deadline.
Their starting pitching is back to what it’s supposed to be after a season full of minor arm woes.
The bullpen is shutting down opponents.
The lineup is as deep as it has been in recent memory.
The pieces are there to make a deep run in October.
It doesn’t feel like that right now, though, because you can’t win without scoring runs. And those were the one thing those pieces didn’t produce enough of in Game 1.
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If a deep Josh Naylor flyout to right field in the fourth inning on Saturday just had a few more feet on it, or a Jorge Polanco lineout to right in the sixth inning dropped a little faster, the attention would be on the things that went right on Saturday instead of the one thing that fell short.
But the Detroit Tigers had the well-timed hit in extra innings on Saturday, and the Mariners didn’t. Because of that, the pressure is on the Mariners’ hitters on Sunday to figure out the puzzle that is T-Mobile Park on a chilly October night. And they have to do it against potentially the best pitcher in baseball, too.
Mariners fans couldn’t have been more hyped for the playoffs to return to Seattle. That was made clear by the deafening noise created by the sold-out crowd in Game 1. But those fans are still waiting to see the first Mariners playoff win in the city of Seattle in 24 years, which is surely why Saturday’s loss felt so agonizing.
There’s no doubt the M’s want to deliver that win Sunday just as bad as the fans want to see it. But Saturday night showed just how hard winning in the playoffs can be.
You can have the pitching. You can make the plays in the field. You can get six hits out of your two best hitters.
But you’re going to need more than that. And the Mariners certainly will need more on Sunday to beat Skubal and the Tigers. Otherwise, they’ll see just how fast time can run out in October.
More on the Seattle Mariners
• Dan Wilson discusses Mariners’ ALDS roster decisions
• Mariners’ ALDS roster comes with some surprises
• ALDS Preview: Storylines for Seattle Mariners vs. Detroit Tigers
• FOX’s Adam Amin: Seattle Mariners aren’t a ‘cute story’ anymore
• Lefko: How Seattle Mariners’ ALDS vs. Detroit Tigers will be won
