Seattle Mariners’ walk-off, comeback win over Texas Rangers keeps their playoff hopes alive — but barely
SEATTLE – It didn’t have to come down to this. If the Seattle Mariners had not been swept last weekend in Texas, had not dropped two of three to the Houston Astros earlier this week or had not gone 9-15 in June and 9-15 again to start September, they wouldn’t have entered the final series of the 2023 MLB regular season with their hopes of playing in October slipping away . One year after ending the most infamous drought in sports and one month after playing like the hottest team on the planet , the Mariners’ season concludes with 10 straight games against their division rivals and two of the three teams they’re battling for an AL wild-card berth. Six games into that stretch, they were profoundly squandering their opportunity. It didn’t have to come down to this. Heading into the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday, the Mariners had out-hit the formidable Texas Rangers lineup but were trailing 2-1. The starting pitching that carried them into contention had kept them in the gam