As poorly as the 2026 regular season has gone for the Seattle Mariners, they seemingly had a chance to go on a run and make the playoffs. They were 64-74 at the end of August but were only 5.5 games back of a playoff spot in the AL and had just taken two of their final three series of the month against opponents that are almost certainly postseason-bound. Cal Raleigh was heating up, and the Mariners had a shockingly easy September schedule to lean on.
Well, unsurprisingly, MLB's most disappointing team of the 2026 campaign has only disappointed its fan base further in September. They are blowing their chance of making the playoffs and have only themselves to blame for it.
Mariners' inability to beat unrecognizable Athletics encapsulates Seattle's 2026 season
The Mariners just took two of three from the Red Sox at Fenway Park ahead of perhaps the easiest stretch of games on paper for any team this season. 17 of Seattle's final 22 games were set to come against the Athletics, the Los Angeles Angels and the Colorado Rockies, MLB's three worst teams record-wise. Sure, the odds of making the playoffs were stacked against them, but winning a vast majority of those 17 games figured to keep them in the race, especially given how weak the AL is.
Fittingly, the Mariners have no-showed in the first two games of their final stretch. They blew an early 3-1 lead to lose Thursday's series opener against the Athletics, and despite scoring five runs in the first three innings in Friday's contest, Seattle lost that one as well. The Mariners are now back to 10 games under .500 at 66-76, and are 6.0 games back of the final Wild Card spot.
Ultimately, what good does an easy schedule do if you can't beat the easy teams? Losing to this Athletics team at home on consecutive nights is inexcusable, especially for a team trying to remain in the Wild Card hunt. It's just the latest disappointment in a season full of them for Seattle.
Mariners continue to lose games for reason nobody expected
It's one thing for the Mariners to lose games because they can't hit. Mariners fans are used to that at this point. That hasn't been the case this series, though. The Mariners scored four runs in the series opener and six runs on Friday. You'd think that'd be good enough to beat the Athletics at home, but Seattle's pitching continues to struggle.
Kade Anderson allowed four runs on seven hits with two walks in five innings on Thursday. Logan Gilbert allowed seven runs in 4.2 innings, allowing a whopping four home runs. Both of these pitchers received run support, yet gave up even more runs against a shockingly bad A's team. It's not as if this Athletics team has any of its notable players. Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom are all out for the year, yet the Mariners still can't shut them down. And that isn't only a one-series occurrence. Since August 1, the Mariners rank dead last in the majors with a 5.88 ERA and -0.5 fWAR. Yes, they've accumulated a negative WAR as a pitching staff in over a month. Look at how their notables have been performing since the start of August.
Pitcher | ERA since 8/1 |
|---|---|
Bryan Woo | 2.89 |
Gabe Speier | 4.22 |
Logan Gilbert | 4.58 |
Eduard Bazardo | 4.73 |
Emerson Hancock | 4.76 |
Andres Munoz | 4.85 |
George Kirby | 4.96 |
Kade Anderson | 5.40 |
Jose A. Ferrer | 5.79 |
Bryce Miller | 7.66 |
Bryan Woo has pitched well for the most part, but beyond him, whether you're looking at a member of the rotation or a high-leverage reliever, it's a whole lot of bad. Pitching is supposed to be the Mariners' strength, but it's been what's lost them many of these games.
Mariners' playoff hopes are all but dead at this point
Can the Mariners turn their season around and start doing what they should be doing against bottom-feeders? Sure. It's hard to expect them to make the playoffs at this point, though. Here's a look at the race for the third Wild Card spot, with playoff odds coming from FanGraphs.
Team | Record | GB | Playoff Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
Cleveland Guardians | 72-70 | - | 55.1% |
Toronto Blue Jays | 71-71 | 1.0 | 37.4% |
Texas Rangers | 70-72 | 2.0 | 21.3% |
Baltimore Orioles | 69-73 | 3.0 | 6.1% |
Minnesota Twins | 67-74 | 4.5 | 3.8% |
Seattle Mariners | 66-76 | 6.0 | 5.8% |
The Mariners have the fifth-best postseason odds among the six teams they're actively competing with for the third Wild Card spot, and that takes their remaining schedule into account. Those odds make sense, given how deep a hole they've dug. I mean, for the Mariners to finish with a .500 record, they'd need to go 15-5 the rest of the way. For the Mariners to be two games over .500 like the Guardians are right now, they'd need to go 17-3. For the Mariners to be better, they'd need to go 18-2 or better.
Entering this A's series, the Mariners had four or five losses they could potentially afford to take the rest of the way. Now? It's one or two at best, and if the Guardians or Blue Jays get hot, they might not even have a chance. Yes, the Mariners are talented, and yes, they can go on a run if they play to their capability, but even if they string some wins together, it feels like they've dug too deep a hole at this point.
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