The Seattle Mariners have clinched the American League West for the first time since their historic 2001 season. Their 90-72 record gave them the No. 2 seed in the AL and a bye in the Wild Card.
Seattle is enjoying their break while the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians battle it out in the Wild Card. They will take on the winner of this series on Saturday at 1:08 p.m. PT or 5:38 p.m. PT, depending on who wins between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
It could wind up being an exciting series, as both the Guardians and Tigers are a scrappy bunch. However, with the expected attendance at T-Mobile Park, the fans could make this a tough environment for either team to thrive.
Logan Gilbert reveals the importance of the Mariners' first-round bye
First-round byes have wound up not being that big of an advantage for some teams. It is tough for some who are used to playing every single day to take a break and get right back into the swing of things, but that is not how Gilbert sees it. He revealed the importance of the bye via Erik Kratz of Foul Territory.
"Yeah, it's tough. There's no way around it. I know everybody goes through it, but we travel the most, or one of the most, every year, and it's all I've known here, so it's normal. But, you know, you take an East Coast trip, you're usually getting in at 3-4 a.m. every time, and you take five or six or seven of those a year, it adds up. I was just talking today, that's a big deal why we have the bye this week, too, that we travel so much, I think having a few days or staying in Seattle for more than six days at a time, it's kind of a big deal just to get that break."
Not only does this allow the Mariners to get some much-needed rest from strenuous traveling during the regular season, but it also helps the club make pitching matchups. Their entire staff will be rested while Cleveland and Detroit have been using starters and relievers over the last three days.