Marcus Semien & J.P. Crawford Meet At The Peak Of Their Careers
Seattle Mariners captains Marcus Semien and J.P. Crawford are on the front lines in a war for the American League West over the final ten games.
Only a 1/2 half game separates the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers and Mariners for the top spot in the American League West.
It is the closest any division has ever been this late in the season since divisions were created in 1969.
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Each team controls their own destiny down the home stretch.
The Astros will take on the Mariners for three games beginning Monday before taking on the D-Backs who have a battle of their own in the fight for the a National League Wild Card spot.
Friday will be the first of seven matchups between the Rangers and Mariners.
They are set to play three games over the weekend in Arlington before ending the season with a four-game series in Seattle.
Marcus Semien Is Pounding His Way To The End Of Another Superstar Season
‘Every Pitch Matters’ : Semien The Iron Man
“Every game, every inning, every at-bat, every pitch matters,” Semien told MLBbro.com when asked about what he is stressing to the team as they finish off the year.
Semien, who’s last playoff run came in 2021 with Toronto had that come to an end on the final day of the season as they fell a game short of the postseason.
This season for Semien rivals his 2021 record breaking campaign for the Blue Jays.
The American League starting second baseman and leadoff hitter in the All-Star Game will be the runaway winner of both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.
His nine leadoff home runs are the most in franchise history and he has not missed a game since May 30th of 2022.
Semien leads the American League in runs scored, hits and WAR while sitting in the top 10 in RBI and doubles.
The calvary for the Texas Rangers came back just in time, as earlier this week, two of Semien’s fellow All-Star teammates, Josh Jung and Adolis Garcia, returned to the lineup after missing time with injuries.
That lengthens what is the deepest lineup in the Majors. Returning the offensive powerhouse back to where it was when Texas was putting up numbers that were comparable to the 1930’s Yankees earlier in the season.
Seattle Is World Series Hunting
For J.P. Crawford, his only goal this season has been to get his Mariners back to the playoffs after snapping their 21-year long drought last year.
At one point this season, the Mariners were 10 games out of first place and there was even talk on whether or not they should be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline.
Through the storm, Crawford was the team’s most consistent player, giving time for superstar 30-30 guy Julio Rodriguez to catch fire.
Crawford ranks 4th in OPS and runs, 2nd in On Base Percentage, 1st in walks and second in doubles amongst all Major League shortstops
The Mariners may have the best starting pitching staff in baseball, which during the playoffs could give them the edge over the rest of the field in the American League.
Add that to the fact that they got a taste of playoff success last year, no moment will be too big for Seattle over this last week.
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