Storybook run falls just short as Mariners miss playoffs despite late-season run

Anthony Misiewicz knew he had made a season-altering mistake.

When the left-hander’s 3-2 curveball left Jared Walsh’s bat at 110 miles per hour, Misiewicz could only turn, squat to the ground, and watch a two-run homer fly into the right field seats.

The fourth-inning blast propelled the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-2 lead, and a sellout crowd that was once on their feet returned to their seats in silence. The energy and noise that reverberated throughout a playoff-hopeful crowd of 44,229 was no longer.

Down 7-3 in the 9th inning as this story was filed, Seattle appeared about finish the season with a 90-72 record, missing the playoffs for the 20th consecutive year.

Fans buried their faces in their hands, and others covered their eyes with their Seattle caps. Some turned to their cell phones, and began to follow the score of the Seahawks game instead.

From the fourth inning on, a crowd of 44,229 lacked the energy it had shown less than 24 hours earlier during a come-from-behind Saturday victory. Even before Walsh’s blast, the Angels plated a pair of runs in each of the first two innings.

The Mariners dug an early hole, and they spent Sunday afternoon trying to escape it.

With starter Tyler Anderson on the mound, Shohei Ohtani cranked a solo home run on the first at-bat of the game. Later in the inning, Jack Mayfield plated Phil Gosselin on an infield single.

In the second, David Fletcher drove in Jose Rojas on a one-out double, and Walsh drove in his first run of the game on a sacrifice fly. Suddenly, Los Angeles’ lead was 4-0.

But the Mariners weren’t ready for their season to end, and the Seattle bats started to chip away. Jarred Kelenic and J.P. Crawford checked in with RBI singles to cut the lead in half.

It took 62 minutes to play two innings, and Seattle trailed 4-2.

At this point, Seattle’s sellout crowd for a third consecutive night remained energetic. They stood on their feet with two strikes on opposing hitters, and when Seattle had runners in scoring position.

They were a 20-years-overdue volcano, ready to erupt.

That’s when Walsh’s two-run homer in the fourth eliminated the volume. His blast killed the crowd’s volume, and delivered a crushing blow to Seattle’s playoff hopes. One fan in the crowd threw the ball back onto the field.

Seattle had chances to make up the ground they had lost, but failed to cash in, in many instances. With two runners in scoring position in the fourth, Crawford struck out and Ty France flew out in foul territory to end the inning.

Los Angeles added a run in the fifth, when David Fletcher’s pop-up found a gap in shallow left field. Crawford tried to barehand it on the run, but missed, and rolled away. Lagares scored, and the Angels led, 7-2.

The Mariners needed a win today and a loss from either Boston or New York to force Game 163. It wasn’t known until the eighth inning at T-Mobile Park, but when both the Yankees and Red Sox won their games, Seattle had been eliminated.

For postseason purposes, Seattle’s loss didn’t cost them.

New York won their game on a walkoff single in the ninth. Boston rallied from a 5-1 deficit, and hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the ninth to win their game, 7-5.

As both AL East teams locked up wild card spots, and the Mariners’ deficit held, hope faded, and eventually disappeared.

Seattle squandered another run-scoring opportunity in the sixth inning, when Jake Fraley singled with one out to load the bases. Back at the top of their lineup, Crawford grounded into a run-scoring fielder’s choice, and France grounded out to end the frame. Seattle mustered only one run, and time was not on their side.

Seattle’s Sean Doolittle and Angels left-hander Jose Quijada both tossed clean innings for their respective clubs in the seventh. In the eighth, Seattle’s Casey Sadler retired the side in order, extending his MLB-best scoreless appearance streak to 29 games.

The Mariners failed to score in the eighth. As this story was filed, they were down to their final three outs.

This story was originally published October 3, 2021 at 4:02 PM.