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SEATTLE, Washington – Cal Raleigh scored a 406-foot solo home run at the bottom of the ninth inning that led Seattle to a 2-1 win over A on Friday night and into the postseason for the first time since 2001.
Raleigh, pinching for Luis Torrens, hit a low, inside slider against Oakland rescuer Domingo Acevedo and hit the tiebreaker.
“The moment I realized it was right and then I looked at the team and everyone was jumping, it was crazy,” Raleigh said. Seattle, which started the day with a magic number of one, grabbed a wild card in AL.
The club holds the No. 5 mid-game on Tampa Bay and is two games from Toronto for first place with wild cards; the only non-divisional winning seed who would host the best-of-three first round next weekend.
With the drought behind them, the Mariners’ goal in these last six regular season games, all at home, is to make sure this celebration continues in Seattle until next Friday, when the American League Wild Card Series kicks off. . .
During the three transition years leading up to the 2022 season, veterans Mitch Haniger and Marco Gonzales, the only survivors of the previous regime, have expressed intentions not only to get involved, but to win it all.
With a roster full of elite starting pitchers, a bullpen that, despite some hiccups of late, has been one of the best in MLB, and a lineup that doesn’t have the star power of other giants but wears down opposing pitchers, Seattle has ingredients that are often favorable to teams that win and advance in the playoff series.
Still, even with his talent, it wasn’t the smoothest or easiest season. It all came to a head when on 19 June the club dropped to a maximum of 10 matches of the season under .500.
Information: MLB.
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