The Seattle Mariners will open up the 2026 season on Thursday night (7:10 p.m. PT) at T-Mobile Park against the Cleveland Guardians.

The Mariners are fortunate to have the first seven games of the season at home, especially as they come against two playoff teams from a season ago: The Guardians and the New York Yankees.

Though those are two tough matchups, the Mariners are generally blessed with a soft schedule for the first month of the season, and they'd be well-served to take advantage of it.

As we discussed on the most recent 'Refuse to Lose' podcast:

"But I want to see the Mariners get off to a good start in 2026, and it's for many, many reasons. A good start doesn't mean everything. We know that. The Mariners had a 10-game lead in June in 2024, blew it, and didn't even make the playoffs. A good start is not as important as a good finish....

I would like the team to be consistently good rather than up and down, but I would like to see this team start good. The Mariners have, in their first 31 games, March and April, 16 games at home and 15 on the road. So it's a fairly even split, but they have the first seven at home. So I would like to see them take advantage of that, because if you don't take advantage of the first seven, then you are on the road fairly consistently for the remainder of the 24 games. You'll be on the road for 15 of the last 24.

So take advantage of the first seven against Cleveland and the Yankees. Cleveland and the Yankees were two playoff teams from a year ago. They are undoubtedly difficult matchups. At the same time, the next 24 games that the Mariners play are all against non-playoff teams from a year ago, and that doesn't mean everything. Teams that were bad one year aren't necessarily bad the next. Teams that are going to be bad at the end of the year aren't necessarily bad early. It's not a perfect science...

So your first seven are against Cleveland and the Yankees, and the next 24 are against non-playoff teams from a year ago. The Rangers and Astros are both interesting and both have the ability to be good, but you've got the Twins in there, the rebuilding Cardinals in there. I mean, there are games to win in March and April, especially after the first seven.

I want to see the Mariners start off well, because a good start is always preferable to a bad start. I want to see the Mariners start well because I want them to force the skeptical fans to come over to my way of thinking, and I also want to see the Mariners take advantage of a pocket in their schedule that should be taken advantage of. And when you get that pocket in your schedule, you have to be able to take advantage of it.

You look down the line—August is absolutely dreadful for the Mariners. It is absolutely brutal. So if you think you're going to do this dance where you just kind of hover for the first three and a half months of the season and then turn it on on August 1st, I don't know that that is a viable option this year."

It should be noted that the Mariners actually only play 21 of the final 24 against non-playoff teams. The San Diego Padres did make the playoffs last season, and that was corrected later on in the discussion.

As for the August schedule, the Mariners will play the Brewers, Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays -- all playoff teams from a season ago -- and all on the road.

Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!