There’s still time. Plenty of time, really.
But if the Mariners are determined to chase down the Houston Astros and claim their first division title in nearly a quarter century, they need to start building some real momentum soon.
As in, now.
This week presents the perfect opportunity to do just that, and the Mariners did generate some traction toward that end goal with a clean 8-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.
Now they need to get greedy, and they know it.
“Our record right now, it’s good. But we gotta go. We’re going for more,” third baseman Eugenio Suárez said. “We came here to try win the most games we can and help the Mariners win everything this year.”
By “we,” Suárez is referring to himself and Josh Naylor, and the Mariners’ two new sluggers each hit a two-run homer Tuesday night to back another dominant start from Bryan Woo and help the Mariners (61-53) improve to 4-1 since the July 31 trade deadline.
With 49 games remaining the Mariners remain three games back of the Astros (64-50) in the AL West.
“When you see our lineup, it’s very deep. We have a chance to win every game when we are in the lineup,” Suárez said. “We’ve just got to continue and play how we’ve been playing and do our best to try win games … [and] not try to be a hero or whatever like that. Just do your best and put everything together on the field.”
Though they have played better of late — winning 10 of 15 since the All-Star break coming into this mid-week series — the White Sox, at 42-71, still own the worst record in the American League.
The slumping Tampa Bay Rays (56-59) come to town at the end of the week, offering the Mariners a chance to solidify a consistent stretch of play that has so often eluded them this season.
They’re hoping their new-look lineup — with Naylor and Suárez in the middle of everything — pushes them toward that first AL West title since 2001.
“The pieces we’ve added, having those big bats in the lineup is huge,” M’s manager Dan Wilson said. “And you see what they did tonight … we’re starting to settle into to what our offense can do [with] the different pieces that we have. And that’s something that we want to continue to do consistently throughout.”
The Mariners had 11 hits Tuesday, and they’ve scored 27 runs (5.4 per game) in five games since the trade deadline.
Suárez’s mammoth two-run home run in the fourth inning was his 37th of the season — and first since his return to Seattle on Friday.
Suárez had whiffed at three straight pitches in his first at-bat against White Sox starter David Martin, but he didn’t miss the first pitch in his second at-bat.
Suárez turned on a Martin cutter and yanked it 390 feet out to left field, a 105.9-mph blast off the bat that gave the Mariners a 3-1 lead.
It was Suárez’s first homer for the Mariners since Sept. 30, 2023.
“It felt great,” Suárez said. “I feel so happy to contribute to my team with that home run right there and give the lead. To see the fans’ faces when I got that trident, that was fun. That was really fun.”
Naylor added his two-run homer in the seventh inning of White Sox lefty Bryan Hudson. It was Naylor’s 13th homer of the season and second with the Mariners.
Naylor also stole second and third base in the sixth inning — with Suárez moving to second on a double steal — and both scored on a Jorge Polanco single to extend the Mariners’ lead to 5-1.
Naylor is 8 for 8 in stolen-base attempts in 11 games with the Mariners.
Dominic Canzone’s solo home run in the second inning tied the score at 1-1.
It was his seventh homer of the season (first since July 3) and continued his breakthrough since being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma in early June.
Canzone added an opposite-field double in the eighth inning, raising his average to .296 and his OPS to .851 in 139 at-bats since his promotion.
“We know he’s got the power when he gets a count that’s in his favor,” Wilson said. “When he finds the barrel, the ball jumps off his bat. And he’s done a really nice job being a complete hitter. He’s been able to use the middle of the field; he’s been able to turn on some balls for power; but also able to drive the ball the other way at times. And that’s been a really big part of his growth.”
Woo was as good as he’s been all season, allowing just two hits over seven innings.
He matched his career high with nine strikeouts, allowing only a solo home run in the first inning. He scattered just two hits with no walks, retiring the final 16 batters he faced.
Woo has thrown at least six innings in all 22 of his starts this season, extending a club record.
“I feel like I’ve been trying to preach it all year, just consistency, keeping things as simple as I can, keeping the routine consistent throughout the week,” Woo said. “And that leads into a consistent start. So that’s really what I’ve been most focused on.”
The win pushed the Mariners into the second American League wild-card spot, ahead of the Yankees (60-54) and 2 1/2 games back of the Red Sox for the top spot.
Chicago’s Luis Robert Jr. and Colson Montgomery hit solo homers off Jackson Kowar in the ninth inning.
