The sold-out crowds seen at T-Mobile Park throughout a season-defining homestand arrived in similar numbers, and George Kirby was again brilliant in Game 162 — but Sunday's result, from the first pitch, was meaningless.
What could have been a pivotal, all-or-nothing regular-season finale for the Mariners at T-Mobile Park was more the opposite on Sunday afternoon. The energy and enthusiasm from a once-playoff-hungry crowd was largely non-existent, unlike in days prior, even as Kirby sparkled across six scoreless.
The Mariners were eliminated from postseason contention Saturday night — meaning Sunday began and ended without a glimmer of hope for the first time since the 2019 season. Aside from the consolation of playing spoiler to Texas' division-title hopes, Kirby's gem and a closely contested 1-0 win in Game 162 failed to move Seattle's postseason needle.
"It's always a sad day, the last day of the year," manager Scott Servais told the media. "For me, it's the most miserable day of the season, the final day of it."
In a year with perhaps the heaviest expectations in decades — a year the Mariners targeted the AL West crown and looked to build on their first postseason appearance in over 20 years — results fell disappointingly flat. Seattle (88-74) finished third in the division, unable to supplant either Texas rival across its last seven regular-season games.
Pitching carried them through the All-Star break and a scorching lineup put the Mariners atop the AL West in August. But a September nosedive hurt Seattle most.
Seattle finished the month 11-17; a 14-13 record in that stretch would have secured a playoff berth.
Even without hope Sunday, Kirby gave fans one more standout start to remember in 2023. His 20th quality start this season featured three hits and seven strikeouts without a walk or earned run.
Desperate for a win that could seal the AL West, Texas was instead blanked as Seattle grabbed the game's first (and only) run and stormed to victory Sunday behind Kirby's dominance.
Dominic Canzone plated Seattle's only run in the fourth with one out and the bases loaded. The 26-year-old's fielder's-choice groundout to first base allowed Eugenio Suarez, at third, to scamper home underneath a tag by Rangers catcher Jonah Heim, nearly an inning-ending double-play.
If only the run, or the win, mattered.
"It's going to be a longer offseason, because last year, we did have the (postseason) ride," Servais said. "Ultimately, you have to win the division. We were as close as we have ever been since I've been here to winning... now, you've got to go the extra mile.
"We need to cut down on our strikeouts. We need to be more consistent offensively. ... Our pitching was good enough to get it done, in my opinion."
Of note: Houston also won Sunday, meaning Seattle's finale went for naught even had the Mariners won on Saturday.
A division and wild-card race that was completely undetermined less than 48 hours ago is official: Houston is the AL West champion and will advance directly to the ALDS. The Rangers meet Tampa Bay for a three-game wild card series that begins Tuesday.
"We've got many big years ahead of us. (We've got) a young core that's exciting," Servais said. "We've just got to continue getting better."
RALEIGH APOLOGIZES FOR "EMOTIONAL" WORDS
Within an hour of Saturday's season-deflating loss, most Mariners remained in the clubhouse to follow Houston's game at Arizona, as any hope for a meaningful Game 162 relied on a come-from-behind Diamondbacks win.
But Houston held firm, and Arizona fell in a shutout. The Astros' 1-0 win Saturday night secured Houston its seventh consecutive postseason berth and officially eliminated the Mariners from contention.
Sunday's game would carry no weight.
Only a short walk through the T-Mobile Park tunnel led to a Rangers celebration in the visiting clubhouse. Their AL West fate still was undetermined, but Saturday's win over Seattle assured them a wild card spot, at least.
There was no champagne left over for Seattle. No goggles, no music, no parties. And amidst the quiet, Cal Raleigh decided to speak up.
"We've got to commit to winning," Raleigh told MLB.com's Daniel Kramer. "We have to commit to going and getting those players. You see other teams going out (and) going for it, getting big-time pitchers, big-time hitters. We have to do that to keep up."
Raleigh's words were indirect but included an obvious mentioning of the visiting Rangers, who spent over $500 million in offseason contracts in 2021, headlined by SS Corey Seager and 2B Marcus Semien, a pair of All-Stars. And Raleigh surely appeared to point toward Seattle's much-smaller payroll, which ranks 18th-highest in MLB.
Raleigh was the first person inside Servais' office on Sunday morning. They "talked through" what Servais called "growing pains."
Then came a public apology from Raleigh on Sunday morning. "It wasn't a time to talk about what-ifs," he said.
J.P. Crawford and Ty France came to their teammate's defense soon after, but inside his home dugout, Raleigh continued: "I love all of my teammates and coaches in there, and I'd do anything for them. And I really thought we had the pieces to win this year. We came up short. That falls on me. ... I have to live with that this offseason, and we have to get better."
CRAWFORD'S HEROICS KEEP MARINERS ALIVE
This lost season could have ended days sooner without the heroics of shortstop and leadoff hitter J.P. Crawford, Seattle's unofficial captain, who continues to make a case for a 'C' on the upper corner of his jersey.
Down to Seattle's final out and trailing by a run in Thursday's opener with Texas, Crawford cranked an opposite-field, walk-off double to left that plated two runs and, essentially, kept the Mariners alive for another day. Rangers power-arm Aroldis Chapman loaded the bases with no outs in a save opportunity before Jonathan Hernandez took over in relief; Hernandez induced two outs, and nearly a third.
But Crawford's walk-off sailed over the head of Rangers left fielder Evan Carter, enough to push the Mariners into another must-win Friday.
He was showered in a postgame water bath and screamed into the ROOT Sports camera before an instant network apology: "Let's (expletive) go!"
"Everyone's depending on me at that point," Crawford thought to himself at the plate. "Two outs, bases loaded, bottom of the ninth. ... These last games mean everything."
And Crawford's torrid stretch continued into Friday, where a fourth-inning grand slam — his second this season — doubled Seattle's lead to eight in another win, 8-0.
The Mariners were still alive.
Crawford set career-highs in home runs (19), walks (94), and RBI (65), the latter particularly impressive given his leadoff status for much of 2023. He became the first player in Mariners history to lead the American League in walks.
"Credit to (J.P.), going back to the work he put in (during) the offseason, the adjustments he's made throughout the year," Servais said. "For us, day in and day out, he may be our most valuable player.
"I know Julio's a superstar. But what J.P. brings every day, and how he goes about it, and how he's turned into a leader on our ballclub... it shows up."
SHORT HOPS
3B Eugenio Suarez appeared in all 162 games this season, one of just four players in MLB to do so in 2023.
"There's nothing more valuable to a manager or coach than the fact that a player is going to be available," Servais said of his third baseman. "It's really hard to do.
"I wanted to pull him out of the game today early, and he says, 'No, I'm finishing it all the way to the end.' That's Geno." — Cal Raleigh (30 HRs) led MLB catchers in home runs for a second-consecutive season (27 in 2022). — Only 19 pitchers in MLB posted at least 18 quality starts in 2023, and Seattle boasted three of them: George Kirby (20), Luis Castillo (18), and Logan Gilbert (18).
