Mariners win AL West for 1st time in 24 years as Raleigh reaches 60 homers in 9-2 win over Rockies
SEATTLE AP Only fitting it was Cal Raleigh who catapulted the Seattle Mariners to their first AL West championship in years Wednesday night The switch-hitting catcher launched two more homers to give him a major league-best this season and the streaking Mariners clinched the fourth division crown in the franchise s -year history with a - mastery over the Colorado Rockies The lone big league unit that s never been to a World Series Seattle last won the AL West in when it set an American League record with wins thanks in large part to a prolific rookie season from new Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki But similar to that crew winning the AL West required more than a record-setting performance from one participant In addition to Raleigh the Mariners had four other All-Stars outfielders Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodr guez as well as right-hander Bryan Woo and closer Andr s Mu oz Even with that quintet the Mariners entered the mid-summer break just six games over a mark that held prior to the July pact deadline President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto felt compelled to add to a gang that entered August games back of the division lead and did so in a meaningful way The Mariners acquired slugging third baseman Eugenio Su rez and multi-talented first baseman Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks and getting ahold of both has proven to be quite the shrewd move Since the deadline the Mariners have gone - and clinched a playoff spot on Tuesday night thanks to certain late-game heroics from Naylor It hasn t just been a potent Mariners lineup one which entered Wednesday s match with the third-most homers in the majors that has powered the club back to the postseason for the first time since Despite injuries to the likes of right-handed starters Logan Gilbert George Kirby Bryce Miller and Logan Evans the Mariners rotation has held together Veteran right-hander Luis Castillo has been both steady and available all season while Woo broke out in a big way in his first All-Star campaign Woo leads all Seattle pitchers in wins innings pitched strikeouts and Wins Above Replacement However he won t take his next turn in the rotation as his scheduled Thursday night start against the Rockies is being skipped due to pectoral tightness Seattle general manager Justin Hollander mentioned Tuesday Having a healthy Woo for the postseason would go a long way for the Mariners who are closing in on a first-round bye Of module it won t be easy for the Mariners in October Still looking for its first pennant the franchise has never made it further than the AL Championship Series in five postseason appearances But as Seattle has proven all season it is hardly a one-dimensional club even if Raleigh has drawn ample headlines with his propensity for the longball Instead it s a deep band one with multiple All-Stars and a handful of starting pitchers that would be aces on other teams Only time will tell if this Seattle squad has what it takes to write a new chapter and go further in the postseason than any previous Mariners band AP MLB https apnews com hub MLB Source
