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Streaking Mariners ready for crucial homestand
- Updated: September 15, 2016
SEATTLE — So now things get interesting for the Mariners. Sixteen games to play, and with an American League Wild Card berth squarely in sight.
The team with the longest playoff drought in the Majors opens a critical six-game homestand Friday against the Astros knowing that it still has a chance to crash the postseason party. And that’s all this group has asked for from the start of a season under new management, having undergone a significant roster makeover following a 76-86 finish in 2015.
Thanks to its current eight-game winning streak, this year’s club has already exceeded that win total, sitting at 78-68 with just over two weeks remaining. And after taking care of business against the A’s and Angels during a 6-0 road trip, the Mariners moved within a game and a half of the AL’s second Wild Card berth heading into Thursday’s off-day.
• Celebrate 8 straight wins with $8 tickets this weekend
The Mariners were six games back in the Wild Card race on Sept. 6 after falling to 70-68 with a 10-7 loss to the Rangers. At that point, FanGraphs projected the Mariners’ odds of reaching the playoffs at two percent.
But Seattle topped Texas in the final two games of that series at Safeco Field, ran the table on its just-completed road trip and now has a 26 percent chance of landing its first postseason berth since 2001, according to FanGraphs.
What seemed like a pipe dream just a week ago has suddenly taken an intriguing …
