(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
If you are looking for the most competitive division in MLB, look no further than the AL West.
Granted, the best teams in the league, the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers, don’t play there.
But the AL West has three teams vying for the top spot, separated by just two games.
The Texas Rangers still lead with a 72-53 record, the Houston Astros are right behind at 71-55 (1.5 games back), and the surging Seattle Mariners appear in third place with a 70-55 record (half a game behind the reigning World Series champs and two games behind the Rangers).
Wait, the Mariners?
Yes: in the blink of an eye, they are now in the thick of things.
That’s what a seven-game winning streak does for you.
The M’s haven’t only won seven straight: their hitters have thoroughly dominated opposing pitching staffs during their streak.
“The @Mariners during their current 7-game winning streak: 93 hits, 39 extra-base hits, 17 home runs, 13 stolen bases. No other team in MLB history has reached all of those numbers over a 7-game span,” OptaSTATS tweeted.
The @Mariners during their current 7-game winning streak:
93 hits
39 extra-base hits
17 home runs
13 stolen bases
No other team in MLB history has reached all of those numbers over a 7-game span.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 22, 2023
39 extra-base hits in seven games is a whole lot.
17 home runs in a seven-game stretch is more than two per game.
Led by the red-hot Julio Rodriguez, Seattle has done nothing but mash as of late.
Oh, and don’t forget their dominant rotation, a unit that boasts Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, and the currently injured Emerson Hancock.
Even though they made a couple of trades that a selling team would execute prior to the deadline, the Mariners look determined to take that AL West crown.
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