The Seattle Mariners are finally in sole possession of first place in the American League West after sitting below .500 in early July.
The Mariners hosted the Kansas City Royals on July 28 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, USA.
온라인바카라The Mariners got a one-hit shutout from ace Luis Castillo and home runs from Julio Rodriguez and Teoscar Hernandez.
Seattle Mariners. Photo by Getty Images
In the end, it was the perfect combination of two-hitters that gave Seattle a 3-2 win. The Mariners, who have won three straight and nine of their last 10 games, are 74-56 for a .569 winning percentage.
The loss knocked the Texas Rangers (73-57, .562), who are 1-9 in their last 10 games, out of sole possession of first place in the American League West.
Of course, only one game separates second-place Texas from the third-place Houston Astros (74-58, .561). But there’s no doubt that Seattle’s best player right now is.
Teoscar Hernandez. Photo via Getty Images
Seattle was under a 5% winning percentage at the beginning of July and finished the second half of the season with a 45-44 record. That means they started the second half with a +1 win-loss margin and are now +18.
However, Seattle recently reeled off another eight-game winning streak after an eight-game winning streak earlier in the month, quickly catching Texas and Houston at the top of the district.
Seattle has since swept a three-game home series against Kansas City to move past Texas, which has struggled of late.
Luis Castillo. Photo by Getty Images Korea
Seattle will now host the Oakland Athletics for a three-game series from March 29-31. They’ll be looking to defend their lead against the underdog Oakland.
Seattle’s last district title dates back to 2001, when Ichiro Suzuki swept the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards.
The team has yet to reach the World Series since its inception in 1997. It will be interesting to see if Seattle can pull off a miracle.