The Mariners took the first two games of the American League Championship Series in Toronto, and they are just two wins away from getting to the World Series for the first time. They'll have three chances in Seattle coming up this week to win those two games.
After beating the Toronto Blue Jays 10-3 on Monday night, the Seattle Mariners are just two wins away from reaching their first World Series in franchise history.
And history is very much on their side in that quest, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:
In postseason history, teams taking a 2-0 lead in any best-of-seven series have gone on to take that series 78 of 93 times (83.9%)
In series with the current 2-3-2 format, teams winning both Games 1 and 2 on the road have prevailed in the series 24 of 27 times (88.9%)
So, we are at the point where the Mariners have an 89 percent chance to finish off this series, an uncomfortable feeling for Mariners fans who have never seen their team have this kind of success.
A season of resilience
So how did the Mariners get here? Well, they have battled their way through adversity in several spots this season.
Seattle has seen 80 percent of its starting rotation land on the injured list at some point, and George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller all missed at least a month with ailments.
Furthermore, they played a large portion of the year without starting right fielder Victor Robles.
They also found a way to withstand two dreadful East Coast road trips in the second half of the season, going 2-7 through Baltimore, New York (Mets) and Philadelphia in August, and then 3-6 through Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Atlanta.
But yet they keep coming back behind a solid clubhouse leadership group, and they've obviously been buoyed by a historic offensive season from Cal Raleigh, as well as trade deadline acquisitions of Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez. Julio Rodriguez put up an incredible second half and Jorge Polanco has been a steadying force in the lineup.
How they can finish this off
First things first, the Mariners need to not be complacent in their position. Just because they are up 2-0 doesn't mean the series is over.
Second off, they have to know that the Blue Jays are going to come out urgent in Game 3. An early strike by the offense could go a long way toward taming the optimism and aggression on the other side.
George Kirby will pitch in Game 3 against former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber. First pitch is scheduled for 5:08 p.m. PT on Wednesday. Luis Castillo will pitch in Game 4.
Related Mariners Stories
LATEST PODCAST IS OUT: Brady Farkas is back for the latest episode of the Refuse to Lose podcast, and he's giving a 30-minute episode on what happened in Game 5 of the ALDS, how he almost missed his flight as a result of it, the nice managerial job by Dan Wilson in that game and much more. LISTEN HERE:
SCOTT SERVAIS POSSIBILITY? With Mike Shildt stepping aside as the manager of the San Diego Padres, could former M's manager Scott Servais be in the mix? CLICK HERE:
GIVING MORE CREDIT: Jorge Polanco has been excellent this season, and in these playoffs, and he should be receiving more credit for his work to maintain two swings. CLICK HERE:
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