Should Mariners fans root against Astros or Rangers now?
With the Seattle Mariners in first place, their AL West competition -- the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers -- are set to play each other the next three games.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 13: Josh Naylor #12 of the Seattle Mariners claps while running towards first base after hitting a two-run RBI single during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at T-Mobile Park on September 13, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Seattle Mariners fans are in an interesting spot Monday night.
The Mariners, who have won a season-high nine straight games to surge into sole possession of the AL West lead, aren’t playing. But the two teams now chasing them in the division are – against each other in a three-game series.
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That’s a good thing, but it also creates a dilemma. Should M’s fans root for the Houston Astros, Public Enemy No. 1 in Seattle, to lose three straight at home to the Texas Rangers? Or should they root for the Rangers, who are farther back in the race but have been the hotter of the two teams, to fall even farther back, taking one more team out of race and essentially assuring the M’s will clinch a playoff spot?
There’s really no right answer, but there is no shortage of opinions.
On Monday’s edition of Brock and Salk, the show posed the question to listeners. The consensus from those who texted in was a preference for the Rangers to take two out of three from Houston this week. If that happened and the Mariners were to sweep their upcoming three-game series that starts at Kansas City on Tuesday, then Seattle would lead the Astros by three games going into a highly important three-game weekend series between the two in Houston, while Texas would be four games back of the M’s.
Brock Huard is intrigued by the idea of the Astros sweeping the Rangers out of playoff contention is best for Seattle since it could guarantees the M’s return to the postseason.
But his co-host, Mike Salk, is ready to shift his concerns to a different team in the American League entirely.
“It doesn’t matter who wins. The Mariners are so much better than both of these two chump teams,” Salk said. “… Forget Texas. Forget Houston. I’m looking at the Tigers.”
That would be the Detroit Tigers, who lead the AL Central entering Monday with an 85-65 record – which is just three games ahead of the Mariners (82-68) for the second seed in the American League. The reason that matters is the first two seeds get a bye past the Wild Card Series and straight to the AL Division Series. And like the M’s do against the Rangers, they hold a tiebreaker over the Tigers (the M’s-Astros tiebreaker won’t be determined until their upcoming series).
“Worry about Detroit, man,” Salk said. “Go see if you can track down Detroit, because that really has some benefit. If you can get into the playoffs, fine, whatever. You play Houston or Texas or whoever else in the wild card (series), fine. But if you get an opportunity to chase down Detroit for the No. 2 spot in the league with an opportunity then to sit at home for the first round, then you only have to win two series to get into the World Series.
“That is a completely different experience. So you guys worry about the sheep. I’m going to worry about the wolf.”
Hear the full conversation in the podcast at this link or in the player below. Catch Brock and Salk live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.
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Comments
1 Comments
My only concern about getting the second seed over Detroit is that, while we need rest, we're also a team that needs to get hot and stay hot. Taking a break scares me that our flame will dimmer, the momentum will slow. I've seen this team be VERY streaky the last four years, and the last thing I want to do during a hot streak is take a break... that scares the F outta me, no joke! I think we're built to stay in cruise mode, and keep the lightning bottled up with consistent play. Maybe next year we'll have a better team dynamic (from experience) for sustaining a fired-up team over a break in games.
All that being said, it's worth touching base again on the team's need for rest, specifically our bullpen. We all know they need it. But the playoffs provides that. The format, with games separated more, allows the BP to get the rest it needs, keeping your best arms available. So while the rest could be nice (we could all use a vacation, no...?), it might not be as necessary as we think, and the break in games might disrupt the good thing we certainly have going right now...