October baseball is a series of pressure-cooker choices, and for 24 hours in Seattle the conversation was about one: why the Seattle Mariners let George Kirby face Kerry Carpenter with Game 1 of the ALDS teetering. Fans didn’t need spreadsheets to read the risk — Carpenter had already punished Kirby repeatedly throughout his career, and the moment begged for a different look. When the ball cleared the wall for a go-ahead homer, it felt less like a plot twist and more like a preventable sequel.
Game 2 arrived with the same actors and a familiar script beginning to form.