Mariners lose to Astros 4-3 and lose AL West for 23rd consecutive time

If anyone had to watch the Astros celebrate their seventh division title in eight years, it would be the Mariners, as the AL West was once Seattle’s playable home. Still, it had to hurt. It certainly hurt to watch it all on television, and the pain was only eased by the familiarity of the experience. But while I don’t believe the Mariners are cursed by fate, it’s hard to imagine how different things would be if they were.

I surprised myself with how much fun I had recapping the game when the Mariners were eliminated from the 2023 playoffs. But I just can’t muster the same generosity this time around. It’s always more fun to make a run and try to get back in the race than to blow a lead. For the Mariners to not only blow a lead, but set the record for how quickly a team has ever blown a 10-game division lead? Not only is that less fun, it’s sports sadism. The Seattle Mariners are just the kind of franchise that constantly sets blown records.

Was there fun in it? I think so. Cal Raleigh had the best season by a catcher in franchise history. The rotation had that record 21-game streak of not allowing more than two earned runs. Victor Robles suddenly had a star turn after a change of scenery, which doesn’t usually happen to the Mariners. Luke Raley had some great bunts? I challenge it. This team seemed doomed by stingy owners. And despite the glorious rotation, the weak offense and weak middle bullpen made it hard to even see the wins.

If you want to focus on the glorious rotation, I won’t stop you. Logan Gilbert has always been a must-watch for me, and his breakout year was a sight to behold. He’s spoken to Kate repeatedly about why he developed his splitter in the 2022-23 offseason, and the most important part is that Gilbert tried to imagine how he would succeed if he lost his fastball. To that splitter, he added a cutter this year, making his repertoire unusually complete. Leading the way is that tight and nasty vertical slider and a fastball that Logan knew wouldn’t last forever. But a funny thing happened: He may not have expected to lose his fastball by 2024, but I doubt he expected it to better. As he added power to his throw, his fastball got faster and faster, until tonight he was hitting 99 on a regular basis, on a night when he didn’t even have his best stuff. Even on a bad night, he crossed an important threshold, becoming only the sixth Mariner with a 200 IP, 200 K season. The Mariners’ playoff hopes aren’t technically dead yet, and if they hold out until Sunday, we might see Logan Gilbert back. I’d love to have him on the mound.

Now, to get to the review proper, we must admit that he didn’t play his best tonight. He struck out his usual six batters, but uncharacteristically gave up three home runs, including a monster hit by Alex Bregman in the first inning. To the Mariners’ credit, they put up an unusually valiant effort tonight, getting nine hits, and even stringing some of those hits together! But it wasn’t enough, because the runners left at the corners in the eighth inning were the most pathetic.

In a fair world, Jorge Polanco would receive the Sun Hat Award tonight for individual contribution to a game, in recognition of his four hits and one home run. But since we are at the end of the year, I will bend the rules a bit and call Cal Raleigh’s two hits and two hard hit outs good enough, in recognition of his performance throughout the season. Like I said, it was the best season by a catcher in franchise history.

It is not quite The Mariners’ playoff hopes are over, but the division race is over. The Mariners’ best chance at an AL West title in at least nine years ended when Josh Hader ejected Julio Rodríguez. The fact that it ended that way isn’t proof of a curse, though. Probably.