The Seattle Mariners clinched a postseason spot with their win on Tuesday night, but there's more work to do.
The Mariners have a chance to end their lengthy divisional title drought. They're closing in on winning the AL West Division over the Houston Astros.
Entering Wednesday, the Mariners' magic number for the division title is 2. They need their wins and Houston's losses over the last five games of the season to add up to just 2. They're almost there.
And it's been a while.
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When's the last time the Mariners won a division title?
The Mariners haven't won their division since 2001.
That season was historic, of course. It was Ichiro Suzuki's rookie year, and the Mariners won 116 games in the regular season.
They went on to lose in the ALCS that season.
The Mariners didn't have another postseason appearance after that until 2022, when they made it in as a Wild Card team.
The last two seasons have ended shy of the playoffs, but now the Mariners are going back.
If they can claim the division, too, it'd be a long drought finally ended. And a title very deserved after the way the Mariners have played all season, especially down the stretch.
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