The most promising season in Seattle Mariners history will come down to a winner-take-all game, but teams in the Mariners' position have done well in those scenarios.
The most promising season in Seattle Mariners history all comes down to one game.
The Mariners will play the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series at 5:08 p.m. PT on Monday at Rogers Centre in Toronto. The situation is simple. If either team wins, they'll advance to the World Series to face the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lose, and the season is over.
It's the first time Seattle has been this close to the World Series since it played its first game in 1977 and the closest any Pacific Northwest-bases MLB team has been to the Series since the Seattle Pilots' one-and-done year in 1969. The Pilots relocated to Milwaukee and rebranded as the Brewers.
It's the second consecutive series that's come down to the last possible game for the Mariners. They played Game 5 of an American League Divisional Series against the Detroit Tigers on Oct. 10. It took 15 innings, but Seattle eventually won 3-2.
Unlike Game 5 of the ALDS, the Mariners will be at the Blue Jays home field, but recent Game 7 history has been kind to teams on the road.
Despite all the emotions and fan support that comes with a home Game 7, any homefield advantage that could be found has been almost negligible.
According to a post on "X" from Sarah Langs (SlangsOnSports), teams playing winner-take-all games at their home field are 68-67, including a 30-29 record since championship expanded from a best-of-five to best-of-seven format in 1985.
In addition to the nearly even win-loss record by home teams in Game 7's, the clubs hosting those contests have lost seven of the last eight.
Seattle is the most battle-tested team left in the playoffs and that could either help it rise to the height that is Game 7 of a championship series, or the exhaustion of playing such a long regular season and postseason could finally catch up.
Monday will mark the 174th game of the year for the Mariners — more than any other year in franchise history. It will also be the 12th postseason game played for Seattle. The Blue Jays and Dodgers will have or have played 11 and 10 games, respectively.
George Kirby will start for the Mariners in Game 7 and Shane Bieber will start for Toronto.
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