The Seattle Mariners had their chances.
Two full games of chances, to be clear.
But they didn’t seize the opportunity, and they’re going home rather than going to the World Series.
The Seattle Mariners won the first two games of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays, and they took a 3-2 series lead back to Toronto.
But then the Mariners couldn’t win another.
The Blue Jays won Game 6, and then the Blue Jays won Game 7.
The finale was led 3-1 by the Mariners. They had their opportunity, again.
And again, it got away.
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A bullpen move to Eduard Bazardo and not closer Andres Munoz led to a three-run home run by George Springer, and that was that in a 4-3 Blue Jays come-from-behind victory.
It all spoils what had been a magical season for the Mariners.
They got a 60-homer campaign from Cal Raleigh.
They rallied big time in the regular season to chase down and leapfrog the Houston Astros to win the AL West.
Seattle needed a winner-take-all victory over Tigers superstar pitcher Tarik Skubal just to advance to the ALCS in the first place.
Then the Mariners flew to Toronto and dismantled the Blue Jays in consecutive games to open the series.
They had three games back in Seattle, then, and could’ve finished it right there, but the Blue Jays took two out of three on the road to stay alive.
And with the Mariners back in Seattle this time, Toronto didn’t let up, and the Mariners couldn’t find their way.
So this time, the flight home will be quiet, somber and final. There’s no more baseball for this special group of Mariners to play.
And so it is that no matter how special this season may have been up to this moment, it’ll always be looked back on with some disappointment. The Mariners, a franchise that has never even played in a World Series, didn’t live up to its potential to finally get there. It doesn’t hurt much worse than that.
