Seattle Mariners News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Julio Rodriguez Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Four reasons why Seattle Mariners can win AL West

By Brandon Willman | Last updated 8/25/23

At the beginning of August, the Seattle Mariners were 55-52 and six games back in the AL West. Then they went on their first of two eight-game win streaks in the month. Now they are 71-56, tied for second with Houston and a game back of the reeling Texas Rangers.

Per OddsChecker, the Astros are the favorite to win the division, followed by the Rangers. But the red-hot Mariners may have an even stronger case. Here's why:

Surging at the right time

In the 16 wins that made up their eight-game winning streaks, the Mariners outscored opponents 104-51 and rode those streaks into an MLB second-best August record of 16-5, just behind the Los Angeles Dodgers 19-3, per StatMuse. Seattle lowered its team ERA to 3.69, just behind Toronto (3.68) for best in the majors.

With hot hitting and stellar pitching, the Mariners seem primed to overtake the slumping Astros (72-57) and Rangers (72-55).

CF Julio Rodriguez has returned to form

After struggling to replicate his strong 2022 rookie season, J-Rod had a record-setting stretch to boost his batting numbers. In August, the center fielder broke an MLB record by recording 17 hits in four games and becoming the second player with four straight four-hit games.

On Monday, MLB named him Player of the Week. His hot stretch helped boost his OPS to a team-leading .798. When he is playing his best, the Mariners play well as a team, too.

Julio Rodríguez had SEVENTEEN hits in his last four games and I know that sounds impossible but there is video.

Don't expect to see this happen again in your lifetime. pic.twitter.com/zIMDtViOGS
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) August 20, 2023

Dominant rotation

Seattle's rotation is headed by the three-headed monster of Cy Young contenders Luis Castillo (10-7, 3.15 ERA) and George Kirby (10-8, 3.28) as well as Logan Gilbert (11-5, 3.77). Bryce Miller's impressive rookie year (8-4, 3.78) has helped make the rotation one of the league's best.

“I talked to Bake (Astros manager Dusty Baker) during the All-Star Game, and he respects the heck out of that pitching staff," former Mariners standout Jay Buhner told Larry Stone of the Seattle Times. "They’re electric. They’re young and scary with good arms, and they’re deep."

"[The Mariners] have a right to feel as if their top four starters ... stack up just fine with any rotation in their division. Or their league," Mike Lupica wrote recently for MLB.com.

With a dominant bullpen, the Mariners should be in most, if not all, their games down the stretch.

At the trade deadline, Texas added to its rotation Max Scherzer, who's 3-1 with a 2.66 ERA with the Rangers. Texas starters Dane Dunning (9-5, 3.19) and Jon Gray (8-7, 3.76) are good, but the Rangers lack the pitching depth of Seattle.

Houston, meanwhile, also has strong starters in Framber Valdez (9-9, 3.55) and J.P. France (9-5, 3.51), but like Texas, its Nos. 3 to 5 starters are far weaker than the Mariners.

Easy schedule

The next two series for the Mariners are easy: at home against the Kansas City Royals (41-88) and the Oakland Athletics (37-91). With an extra series against the A's in mid-September and a series against the Los Angeles Angels (61-67) and New York Mets (59-69), Seattle should be in great shape.

Seattle also has seven games left against the Rangers and three against the Astros, a perfect opportunity to gain extra footing in the division race. Per StatMuse, Seattle is 8-2 this season against Houston but 1-5 against the Rangers.

With the Rangers 2-8 in their past 10 games and the Astros 4-6, the Mariners are the hottest team at an ideal time.

More must-reads: