Surprising Seattle Mariners Sweep Angels

Mitch Haniger hit a two run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 8-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels in Seattle on June 13th. The victory capped off a three game sweep of the Angels.

The Mariners improved to 44-24, and are neck and neck with the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. Last season, Seattle finished in third place at 78-84, and this season was picked by many to be a middle of the pack club at best. They’ve won eight of 10 and 20 of their last 25. Haniger is one of the players leading the Mariners’ charge out of mediocrity. The 27 year old outfielder is having a breakout year in his third big league season; that game winning homer was his 16th round tripper of the season. He’s driven in 52 runs, second in the American League. Shortstop Jean Segura is hitting .347 (second in the A.L.) with five homers, 42 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases (tied for second in the league). The pitching staff is anchored by James Paxton (6-1, 3.02 ERA, 111 strikeouts) who threw a no hitter on May 8th at Toronto. Closer Edwin Diaz leads the league in saves; he already has 25.

The Mariners have a very rough portion of their schedule on tap next. They host the Boston Red Sox for four games, then travel to the East Coast and play three games at the New York Yankees followed by three more at Boston. The Yankees and Red Sox are battling it out for first in the A.L. East. It gets a little easier then, with four at A.L. East cellar dweller Baltimore before returning home for three with Kansas City, the last place team in the A.L. Central. Seattle has 13 games left with Houston this season, though they don’t face the Astros again until July 30th. The Mariners do not have the depth to finish ahead of Houston, but could challenge for a Wild Card which would be Seattle’s first postseason appearance since winning the West back in 2001.