Mariners keep playoff hopes alive with 8-2 win in Texas

Julio Rodriguez ties a career-high in RBI, while George Kirby excels as usual against the Rangers and the Mariners keep themselves alive.

Surely the Seattle Mariners can’t do it … can they? Surely they can’t come back from a seemingly hopeless situation, and secure an unlikely playoff spot … can they?

In our humble opinion, we predict that the Mariners are going to just miss out, because that’s the kind of thing which happens repeatedly to professional sports teams in Seattle. However, we would have absolutely zero problem in being proven wrong in this.

Regardless, with the 2024 regular season winding down, the Mariners have found a way to keep themselves in contention. With eight games remaining, they are now just 2.0 games behind the Twins for the final American League wild card spot, albeit Minnesota does hold the season tie-breaker.

There is no doubt the Mariners’ offensive production has improved since Dan Wilson took over as manager. The latest such example of this came on Friday night, as they secured an important 8-2 road win versus the Rangers.

J-Rod has a career night

Leading the way in Texas was Julio Rodríguez, who tied a career-high with five RBI. He also had his first multi-homer game of the season, as he hit two bombs.

It’s been quite the month for Rodríguez, who has clearly taken on board the advice and coaching of Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez. As a result the two-time All-Star is batting .321 with a .908 OPS, with him now looking more like the superstar he’s meant to be in Seattle.

Rodríguez’s home run hits were timely as well, with the first coming in the top of the fifth and the Mariners trailing 2-1. He proceeded to hit a three-run blast which gave the visitors a crucial 4-2 lead.

The 23-year-old then did it again just two innings later, this time with a two-run homer that increased the Mariners’ advantage to 6-2. The Rangers were stunned and could not recover.

Wilson discussed how well his young star is hitting the ball right now and what it means for the club. He said:

“It’s coming off his bat, really, really well, whether it’s the left field or the right field. We’ve seen all that before, and when you’re in that kind of a place as a hitter, you’re dangerous. So that’s a good spot for us, and we hope that just continues.”

As for Rodríguez himself, he’s just excited for the club as a whole, but knows the players have to remain focused. He said:

“It feels great. Obviously we have a shot to get into the playoffs. But I feel like everybody knows that and understands that at the same time we’ve got to take it one day at a time.”

Rojas also does his bit for the Mariners

The Mariners’ other offensive star on the night was Josh Rojas, who had given the visitors a 1-0 lead in the top of the third with a solo blast. He added a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth for his second RBI, to all but put the game away at 7-2.

Back in the lineup after dealing with a hand bruise, Victor Robles added the Mariners’ final run of the night during the eighth with his second hit of the game, to close out the scoring. Overall, the Mariners had 10 hits and forced four walks, in a well-deserved 8-2 win.

Kirby excels again versus the Rangers

If there was a game when the Mariners didn’t need to rely on excellent pitching, this was it. However, they got it anyway from George Kirby, who always seems to do well against the Rangers.

Consider that entering Friday night, Kirby had a 6-0 record and 0.92 ERA in eight starts versus the Rangers. This included last time out, when he had gone 7.0 innings of shutout baseball and allowed a career-low one hit in a 7-0 win.

This time around the 2023 All-Star provided another strong performance, as he went 6.0 innings and equalled his single-season career-high of 13 wins. He allowed just five hits and two earned runs, while giving up no walks and striking out four.

Wilson was appreciative of Kirby’s effort on the night. He said:

“George jumped in and picked up right where he left off against Texas back at home (last Sunday).”

However, as with Rodríguez, Kirby is similarly more focused on how the club is playing as a whole in keeping their playoff hopes alive. He said:

“We’re still in it. Everyone’s confident. We’ve just got to to keep playing good baseball.”

• Seahawks 2026 Draft: Analysis of Key Picks and Strategies
• Seahawks Draft Emmanuel Henderson: Special Teams Prospects
• Seahawks Trade for Beau Stephens: An Offensive Line Boost
• Seahawks Trade Down: What Julian Neal Brings to the Defense
• Analyzing Bud Clark’s Skills: Seahawks’ 2026 Draft Pick

Bullpen continues recent revival

One final positive sign is how well the bullpen has been playing lately, after a period where they were repeatedly letting down the starting pitching. They continued their recent excellent form on Friday night, with Trent Thornton, JT Chargois and Eduard Bazardo combining for 3.0 shutout innings to close the deal.

The Mariners are now 15-11 since Wilson took over, although he has stressed how much the players and his staff have supported him. We now wait to see if this togetherness can result in the ultimate win of a playoff spot.

Anything is possible it seems with eight games to go, with Wilson providing a much-needed breath of fresh air to the organisation. As with his player though he is remaining focused, as he said:

“Tonight, we did what we had to do, celebrated for a minute, then we regroup and we will try to do it again tomorrow. We stressed that we can’t get ahead of ourselves, but this was a good one tonight and a good way to start the road trip.”

The Mariners are now 79-75 overall on the season, and will look to continue their winning ways on Saturday evening. Emerson Hancock will take the ball and needs to show more of the talent which persuaded the Mariners to select him sixth overall in the 2020 draft.

There’s a good chance now that this playoff chase is going down to the wire. How does this all pan out in the end for the Mariners? Do you predict they will just miss out, or manage to clinch an unlikely playoff spot? Let us know in the comment section below.