Mariners clinch top-2 seed in playoffs, spot in ALDS

Sep 25, 2025, 6:07 PM | Updated: 9:47 pm

Editor, Seattle Sports

The Seattle Mariners clinched something related to the playoffs for the third straight day Thursday, and this time they didn’t even have to lift a finger.

Mariners on division title: ‘Fans here deserve that’

Seattle locked up a bye past the wild card round and a spot in the American League Division Series, where they will have home-field advantage, thanks to a Cleveland Guardians loss Thursday.

The M’s (90-69) had a magic number of one to be guaranteed at least the No. 2 seed from the AL. With Cleveland (86-73) losing 4-2 in its series finale against the Detroit Tigers (86-73), it means the AL Central champion – which will be one of those teams – won’t be able to pass Seattle in the standings.

Former Mariners reliever Will Vest recorded the save for the Tigers in Thursday’s game, striking out Guardians catcher Bo Naylor – brother of M’s first baseman Josh Naylor – for the final out.

Had the Guardians won Thursday, the Mariners still could have locked up at least the No. 2 seed with a win in any of their four remaining games, which they did anyways Thursday night with a 6-2 victory in their series finale at T-Mobile Park against the Colorado Rockies.

The Mariners clinched a playoff spot with a win over the Rockies on Tuesday, then locked up their first AL West division title Wednesday night with another victory over Colorado.

MLB standings

Seattle will get to rest up next week during the wild card round before opening a best-of-five ALDS at home on Saturday, Oct. 4.

Might as well skip the Wild Card Series 🤷‍♂️

We’ve officially secured a first-round bye, locked in a spot in the American League Division Series and will host Games 1 (Oct. 4), 2 (Oct. 5) and 5 (if nec., Oct. 10) in front of sold-out crowds. #SeizeTheMoment pic.twitter.com/xpDPWKv3YY

— Seattle Mariners – y (@Mariners) September 26, 2025

The Mariners still have a chance to work their way into the No. 1 seed from the AL, which currently belongs to the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays (91-68). The New York Yankees, who are in the top wild card spot, could also factor in as they enter Friday also with a 91-68 record (Toronto owns the tiebreaker over the Yankees for first place in the AL East).

Both Toronto and New York have a magic number of two to eliminate the Mariners from contention for the top seed, as each won the season series against Seattle.

The Mariners will play their final three-game series of the regular season against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers starting at 6:40 p.m. Friday. The Blue Jays will host the Tampa Bay Rays and the Yankees will host the Baltimore Orioles in their final three-game series this weekend.