This was a fantastic series win for the Seattle Mariners. That is all there is to it.
Everything seemed to start going the way of the M's starting Friday Night. King Felix began the pitching parade that evening, where he held the Athletics to only two runs through eight innings of work to carve out a nice 3-2 victory with the help of Logan Morrison, Robinson Cano, and Endy Chavez. As a bonus, Nick Punto and Bob Melvin lost their minds when it was all said and done. That night, the record eleven-section King's Court was sent home happy, even if they were all given heart attacks in the ninth inning.
Hisashi Iwakuma took the mound the next night in front of 39,000 fans and 20,000 bobbleheads of his likeness to try and contain the Oakland offense for a second night in a row. He did that and then some, giving up the only two runs with two outs in the ninth, when Seattle had already pretty much sealed the deal a half-inning before with Cano blasting a three-run jack to put up six runs. Iwakuma exited after Oakland's two-run home run and 8.2 innings pitched, and was greeted with a well-deserved standing ovation from the packed Safeco Field. At that point, the Mariners had clinched the series with their 6-2 win.
Although the Mariners were unable to complete the sweep of Oakland on Sunday afternoon, the young ballclub proved something to a whole league and an entire nation with the series win. They can play with anyone in the Majors. They took two of three from the best team in baseball, drawing them a game closer in the division and tightening the grip they already have on the fifth and final wild card spot. As we sit here at the all-star break, we can officially call the Mariners playoff contenders.
We can officially get excited.
Everything seemed to start going the way of the M's starting Friday Night. King Felix began the pitching parade that evening, where he held the Athletics to only two runs through eight innings of work to carve out a nice 3-2 victory with the help of Logan Morrison, Robinson Cano, and Endy Chavez. As a bonus, Nick Punto and Bob Melvin lost their minds when it was all said and done. That night, the record eleven-section King's Court was sent home happy, even if they were all given heart attacks in the ninth inning.
Hisashi Iwakuma took the mound the next night in front of 39,000 fans and 20,000 bobbleheads of his likeness to try and contain the Oakland offense for a second night in a row. He did that and then some, giving up the only two runs with two outs in the ninth, when Seattle had already pretty much sealed the deal a half-inning before with Cano blasting a three-run jack to put up six runs. Iwakuma exited after Oakland's two-run home run and 8.2 innings pitched, and was greeted with a well-deserved standing ovation from the packed Safeco Field. At that point, the Mariners had clinched the series with their 6-2 win.
Although the Mariners were unable to complete the sweep of Oakland on Sunday afternoon, the young ballclub proved something to a whole league and an entire nation with the series win. They can play with anyone in the Majors. They took two of three from the best team in baseball, drawing them a game closer in the division and tightening the grip they already have on the fifth and final wild card spot. As we sit here at the all-star break, we can officially call the Mariners playoff contenders.
We can officially get excited.