The Seattle Mariners are hunting to end their 15-year playoff drought. With a record of 49-51, the Mariners are practically out of reach to claim the AL West crown but sit 2 1/2 games back of the final AL wild-card spot as of July 23.
Here is the latest Mariners news:
Gamel becoming Mariners' hero
Ben Gamel wasn't expected to play such a significant role at this point in the season.
In the middle of the 2016 campaign, Gamel was traded to Seattle in a minor-league deal from the Yankees — a deal that he called “bittersweet” because of his ties to his old teammates. His spot on the Mariners wasn’t guaranteed, and he still had to prove himself to the organization.
Gamel spent the latter part of 2016 with Seattle but when 2017 came, he was with Triple A affiliate Tacoma. He wasn’t called up until late April and his performance since has prevented him from being sent back down.
Gamel is hitting .320 and has given the Mariners a reason to buy in this year. He had an opportunity to face the Yankees over the weekend, and Gamel would go on to show his old organization that he’s doing all right with his new squad.
Ben Gamel has hit safely in each of his last nine games, batting .308 with five runs, three doubles and two home runs. #TrueToTheBlue pic.twitter.com/FpyxMC9rpJ
— Mariners (@Mariners) July 23, 2017
Gamel went 6 for 18 with three RBI in the four-game series against the Yankees. He also extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Jarrod Dyson injury update
In the fifth inning of Saturday’s matchup against the Yankees, Jarrod Dyson went crashing into the center-field wall and was diagnosed with a hyper-extended toe.
The injury kept him out of the Mariners’ finale on Sunday but manager Scott Servais said that Dyson just needed a few days to recover and didn’t rule out a possibility of a Dyson appearance.
.@mrzoombiya with the wheels. pic.twitter.com/Sz3veUE7Px
— Mariners (@Mariners) July 21, 2017
Dyson’s services weren’t needed on Sunday. In the bottom of the ninth, the Mariners elected Taylor Motter to pinch run for Nelson Cruz. Motter’s aggressive baserunning came back to backfire on the Mariners — Motter was picked off of first and the Yankees would leave Safeco Park with their first series win since early mid-June.
Mariners continue to hover around .500
The Mariners are doing a lot of waiting to get their record over the .500 mark.
Seattle has been above or equal to .500 on five occasions this year: the latest, on June 24 with a 39-38 record.
The .500 label has been the Mariners’ Kryptonite in the playoff race — fans and players recognize the need to finish well above this mark.
The 2005 San Diego Padres went down in history for having one of the worst records to make the playoffs at 82-80. They won their division with that record, speaking to the weakness of the NL West in ‘05. The Mariners don’t have the comfort of a weak division.
The Astros are running away with the AL West crown, so the Mariners have to compete with the rest of the American League for one wild-card spot. Seattle’s upcoming schedule consists of three-game series against Boston, the New York Mets, Texas and Kansas City — the latter being the Mariners’ biggest wild card threat.