The playoffs likely aren’t in the immediate future for the Seattle Mariners, but that won’t impact how they play their final eight games.
Seattle (72-82) recorded a 5-4 victory Friday in the opener of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies in Denver. The Mariners will take on the Rockies again on Saturday night, sending right-hander Bryce Miller (4-9, 4.19 ERA) to the mound.
Miller has faced Colorado once in his career, giving up three runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings in Seattle last Sept. 23. He received a no-decision in the Mariners’ 4-3 win that clinched a playoff berth for the team and sparked a postseason path that nearly stretched to the franchise’s first World Series appearance.
This season, Seattle manager Dan Wilson wants to finish strong after his team dropped two of three games vs. the Los Angeles Angels ahead of the series with the Rockies.
“We’ve got to keep going, we’ve got to keep playing,” Wilson said of his team, which remains mathematically alive in the playoff race. “Coming out of a tough series there in Anaheim, I thought the first game and the last game really approached it well. We’ve got to continue to take that mentality and continue to do the things that make us successful offensively in a ballpark like this (Coors Field).
“You’ve got to really find ways to add on. You’ve got to really push, and this is a ballpark where strange things can happen.”
Colorado (56-98) is accustomed to strange things happening in its home park, and the team has a knack of making things interesting with late rallies.
The Rockies erased a 3-0 deficit to claim a 4-3 lead on Friday but couldn’t hold on.
While the rallies have been exciting, Colorado is on the verge of a fourth straight 100-loss season. The Rockies have improved from their 119-loss campaign in 2025 and surpassed last year’s win total (43) before August of this season.
However, since sitting 45-67 on Aug. 2, Colorado is 11-31 and has struggled to get solid starting pitching. The rotation has not recorded a win in 21 games but could get a boost with the return of left-hander Jose Quintana, 37, as the starter on Saturday.
The veteran, who signed a one-year deal in the offseason, is 2-3 with a 5.27 ERA in nine starts this year, but his last one came May 24 at Arizona. A left elbow sprain has sidelined him since then, but he had a goal of pitching again before the end of the season.
“He’s a 15-year vet that got hurt in May — it would be easy for a guy like that, with all that time, to just shut it down and call it a day,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “But he set an example for all the young players.”
Quintana is 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 13 career appearances (nine starts) vs. the Mariners.
–Field Level Media
