Magic number dwindles after pregame 'show and go'

SEATTLE -- As the clock stretched deep into the afternoon on Wednesday, T-Mobile Park was eerily inaudible. There was no batting bubble over home plate for early BP. The roof was pulled over to halt fall’s first rain, and as such, the grounds crew had already completed its duties. The first players to emerge did so from the visiting clubhouse and not until later.

On the heels of another disappointing Mariners loss the night prior, this emptiness was by design. Manager Scott Servais called for a “show-and-go” day, canceling on-field batting practice and most scouting meetings -- other than one team-wide gathering two hours before first pitch -- in order to "relax a little bit."

Hours later, perhaps the tactic paid off -- or maybe it was that the Mariners performed to the capabilities that they’ve shown all year. Either way, they held on to a 3-1 victory that was as needed as it was timely. Elsewhere, and pardon Robbie Ray’s urging to not scoreboard watch, every team that Seattle needed to lose did: the Orioles in Boston, the Rays in Cleveland, and the Blue Jays on a historic night for Aaron Judge in Toronto.

• Box score

Magic number: 3 (postseason berth)

Standings update: 84-70 (third AL Wild Card spot)

Games remaining: 8

AL Wild Card: The Blue Jays lead the Rays by 1.5 games for first berth; the Rays lead the Mariners by 1.0 game for second berth; and the Mariners lead the Orioles by 4.5 games for the third berth (plus tiebreaker).

Seeding battle: Tampa Bay owns the tiebreaker over Toronto (10-9) and Seattle (5-2); Seattle owns tiebreaker over Toronto (5-2) and Baltimore (4-2)

For all the admitted pressing that festered inside the clubhouse 24 hours prior -- and the crippling anxiety from those watching outside of it -- the Mariners find themselves firmly on October’s doorstep. On Wednesday, they could be knocking, and as soon as Friday, their soonest night to clinch, they could burst right through.

Their playoff odds computed through FanGraphs -- which take into account 20,000 computer simulations -- reached 100 percent for the first time all season. No, they haven’t clinched yet, but it’s as close as can be and that’s what Servais’ show-and-go scheme was intended to accomplish.

Here’s what he said pregame: "Everybody knows what the goal is, and the goal is close enough you can grab it. The key is to go grab it; don't wait for it to come to you. And that's what we need to get back to doing. Being aggressive, being on the attack, go grab it."

And postgame: “In talking to a bunch of different people today at different times and the group meeting, we have a good team. And I've said it over and over, the depth of our team and the reason we're good is because we trust one another -- and that's what you're seeing.”

Wednesday’s win was emblematic of how the Mariners play when they’re at their best.

Eugenio Suárez regained his timing en route to a 3-for-3 night with an RBI double that tied the game after the Rangers took a first-inning lead. Mitch Haniger followed with a sacrifice fly and showed a more patient overall approach. Carlos Santana capitalized in the third with a fielder’s choice that drove home another. The Mariners manufactured five total hits and drew five walks -- exactly their line in Tuesday’s shutout -- but they were able to cash in.

“Not trying to do too much,” Servais said. “I thought Hani’s at-bats were really good tonight. He didn't get any hits, but you take the walk. If they’re not giving you anything to hit, you just move the line. And that's what we were able to do. That's what we do when we control the strike zone and we're really tough to pitch against. We wear guys out.”

There were also crisp defensive plays, such as Jarred Kelenic making a catch into the wall that had he missed would’ve led to two runs, Ty France igniting a 5-4-3 double play at third base, a position he hadn’t played in over a year until last week, and Curt Casali connecting with Dylan Moore for an inning-ending caught stealing.

And there was another strong outing from a starter, despite not having his best stuff early. George Kirby overcame command issues that led to his lone run early and battled through the sixth.

Team meetings are often extrapolated outside the clubhouse in moments of adversity, and perhaps that was the case Wednesday. But just about every player, coach and staff member liked the idea of “doing something different” in the face of trying times.

“It's not a clearing of the air,” Servais said. “It's just a discussion you have with people, and when you've spent so much time together. We're together every day for seven and a half months, you have those lulls, but there is a point in time where you have to call a spade a spade, and I guess that's what I did today. Credit to our players. They really want to win. They want to do something special here. We've had a nice year, but we needed to get it turned and hopefully we turned in the right direction tonight.”