The Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays are playing live on the MLB schedule from Rogers Centre on Monday night and this series is huge for the AL wild card, as the M's are right in it and need a win to stay alive and this game starts up past 7:07 pm ET with Canadian southpaw James Paxton pitching against JA Happ for the duel on the mound.
The Mariners have a must win game if there ever was one and they have already swept the Blue Jays, but that was at home in Seattle. The team is a game back of the second wild card spot and they have James Paxton on the mound and he has been excellent for the Mariners with Felix Hernandez while everyone else has faltered and they are right there and just need to hang around to get into the mix.
Lloyd McClendon has been the perfect manager for the team and he has been able to keep everyone loose despite the pressure of September. The Mariners have not been in this position in basically a decade and they are looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2001. The team has already clinched and above .500 season and that was a major goal and now they are within grasp of the second wild card spot, with the Royals sitting behind the Athletics.
The Mariners have not been able to gain any ground on the teams above them, as the Royals, Athletics and M's have all gone 4-6 in the last 10 games. The team has been getting some great play from Paxton and he has a 2.03 ERA with a 6-3 record and he is looking to help the team bounce back from a bad loss against the Astros. The team comes in with King Felix on the mound on Tuesday and that is a huge game and they are coming off of a rough loss for Hisashi Iwakuma against the Astros.
The Mariners are on an 11 game road trip and they are playing four in Toronto before matching up with the Angels for three at home. The team basically can only afford to drop two games during this stretch and that would even be too close to call, so there is no margin for error anymore. Robinson Cano has been great for the team and his experience will be key for the Mariners down the stretch.
Check here for the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays live coverage.
