Out for WC, Gonzales still clutch for Mariners

SEATTLE -- It wasn’t a postseason assignment, but in the context of how the Mariners need to map out their pitching, what Marco Gonzales contributed during a 5-4 win in Wednesday’s regular-season finale against the Tigers was just as vital.

• AL Wild Card Game 1, presented by Hankook Tire: Friday, 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on ESPN

But before going into the details on the veteran lefty ...

Julio Rodríguez  blasted his 28th homer to lead off the first inning, setting a Mariners record for a rookie in his bid to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award and setting a franchise record for most leadoff homers in a season, surpassing Ichiro Suzuki’s five in 2002.

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It was Rodríguez’s first homer since Sept. 16, before he sustained a lower back strain that resulted in a 10-day stint on the injured list, a hugely welcome sign after what initially looked like an alarming injury.

• J-Rod primed for postseason stage

Mitch Haniger, who’d also dealt with lower back problems in September, followed with a 418-foot homer in the first, which gave Gonzales an early cushion.

Because Gonzales won’t be available to pitch on regular rest until Monday at the earliest, at which point the best-of-three round in Toronto will be decided, Seattle’s pitching stalwart won’t be included on the Wild Card Series roster. The Mariners instead will opt for Luis Castillo in Game 1 and Robbie Ray and Logan Gilbert in some order for Games 2-3.

Gilbert would’ve started Wednesday if home-field advantage was still in play, but once that opportunity was eliminated earlier this week, the Mariners opted for Gonzales in this outing, with the hope that he could empty the tank and save manager Scott Servais from using as many bullpen arms.

The Mariners traveled to Toronto postgame and are off Thursday, so allocating as much rest as possible was key, especially after using every reliever but Matthew Boyd during Tuesday’s doubleheader. Catcher Luis Torrens even contributed an inning in the matinee of that two-fer and made history.

With Gonzales covering seven innings on Wednesday, Servais only needed to use relievers Paul Sewald and Erik Swanson. Once the postseason begins, Servais said that it’ll be all hands on deck, with relievers needing to be available to pitch three days in a row, a practice they’ve tried to avoid in the regular season. In that context, what Gonzales contributed -- 106 pitches, his second most in 31 starts this season -- was huge.

“You can’t give him enough credit. ... Very, very cool, and proud to call him a teammate,” said Ty France, who hit a walk-off single.

The Mariners’ rotation order of Castillo, Ray, Gilbert, and potentially George Kirby, should they advance, has been long anticipated, especially after Seattle acquired Castillo to be its front-line starter ahead of the Trade Deadline. But now that the playoffs have arrived and Gonzales faces the reality that, despite being here through the thick and thin of the rebuild and that he won’t be on the mound in the franchise’s first postseason games since 2001, he’s taken a completely team-first approach.

“To be able to give us a chance to be fresh going into the games, I welcome that,” Gonzales said. “That's a huge role for me, and so anything I can do to put us in a good position going into the playoffs is what I'm here for.”

Even with two solid starts from Gonzales against the Blue Jays this season, both wins, the Mariners are better positioned to advance with their power arms starting against Toronto’s righty-stacked lineup, full of elite sluggers like George Springer, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Gonzales’ finesse profile is predicated on pitching to weak contact, mostly because he doesn’t possess the elite velocity or spin to overpower hitters, and it’s worked because he’s still found ways to be a valuable big league starter, professing “I’m not sexy” after an outing in May, coincidentally, in Toronto. He finished the regular season with a 4.13 ERA in 183 innings.

But his profile also isn’t conducive for a bullpen role, which was a consideration in August after the club acquired Castillo, though the Mariners instead moved Chris Flexen to relief. Now, that quandary arises again ahead of the postseason and a place for Gonzales is unclear.

Yet even if there isn’t a defined role for the veteran this weekend or beyond, he’s still been a key member of the team that ended the drought, a loyal leader and is as important to the multi-year transition as any player on the roster.

“I'm proud to be a part of this team,” Gonzales said. “And whatever that means going forward for me, I'll embrace it and I'll show up and bring some energy for us in Toronto.”