Mariners will scrimmage in front of fans as they prep for ALDS

Sep 28, 2025, 1:01 PM

Seattle Sports

By securing the American League’s No. 2 seed, the Seattle Mariners gained plenty of advantages heading into the playoffs.

Two key questions for Mariners in the postseason

Most importantly, the No. 2 seed gives the Mariners a first-round bye that advances them straight to the AL Division Series and protects them from the volatility of the best-of-three wild-card round.

The No. 2 seed also gives the Mariners home-field advantage for the ALDS, which is particularly notable given their success inside the friendly confines of T-Mobile Park. The M’s are 51-29 at home this season, including an MLB-best 26-8 at home since the All-Star break.

And with Game 1 of the ALDS not until Saturday, the Mariners now have the luxury of lining up their starting rotation and giving players some much-needed rest – especially their bullpen, which shouldered a heavy load down the stretch.

But at the same time, there’s also the challenge of not getting rusty during the five-day break between Sunday’s regular-season finale and Saturday’s ALDS opener.

In an attempt to stay sharp, the Mariners will hold a pair of six-inning scrimmages on Wednesday and Thursday at T-Mobile Park that will be open to fans.

“The easiest way to create energy is by leaning into your fanbase,” M’s president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto told reporters prior to Sunday’s regular-season finale. “You can go play hard. Every one of our players is gonna play hard. They’re all gonna do their work. None of them is gonna skip a weight room day. That’s just not how this group’s wired.

“But the way you create energy is you create energy with fans, with the buzz, with noise in the ballpark,” he added. “And I do think that that is gonna be a critical piece of what we do. So I hope that people show out.”

The rest-versus-rest debate has become a topic of conversation since MLB went to its expanded 12-team playoff format in 2022, which awarded first-round byes to the top two seeds in each league.

Those top-two seeds have five off days between the regular-season finale and their first playoff game, which is even longer than the four-day All-Star break.

Since MLB went to the new playoff format in 2022, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have had some struggles, advancing past the Division Series just six out of 12 times. The top two seeds have gone a combined 22-27 in the Division Series over that span.

The Mariners hope that by having fans in the stands for the two scrimmages, they can at least somewhat replicate the energy of a real game.

“It should be a lot of fun,” Dipoto said. “Put the scoreboard on, keep score, play music, have the (public address) announcer and try and maintain some level of normal intensity – all the while realizing that through this weekend, having had the opportunity to get some regulars off their feet (and) having a couple days where, especially the back end of our bullpen, a few guys that are banged up get a chance to just take a blow.

“But then turn the volume on in a big way when we get to mid-week and not cruise into the weekend thinking that this is a vacation, because it’s back on in the biggest way.”

Mariners scrimmage details

First pitch for Wednesday’s scrimmage will be at 2 p.m., with the T-Mobile Park gates opening to fans at 1 p.m.

First pitch for Thursday’s scrimmage will be at 5 p.m., with the gates opening at 4 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for general admission seating on the main level. Proceeds benefit the Mariners Care Foundation. Concessions and other facilities will be available to fans throughout the main concourse.

Tickets to the scrimmages are available here.