It’s Sept. 1 – and that means roster expansion day for the Seattle Mariners.
They added seven players, including activated left-hander James Paxton to start Saturday night’s game against the Oakland Athletics, the third of a critical four-game series with the playoffs less than a month away.
Simply, and really no other way to put it, the Mariners need wins Saturday and Sunday. That’s their best chance at overcoming a 5½-game deficit to the A’s for the American League’s final wild card and playing postseason baseball for the first time since 2001 – the longest active playoff drought in North American professional sports.