For most of the past 20 years, the ultimate outcomes of Seattle Mariners games have felt preordained, or at least expected. Was it a surprise when the mid-2000s teams lost without scoring runs? Was it a surprise when Chone Figgins didn’t come through in the clutch, or when the 2019 Mariners couldn’t find a third starting pitcher to string together a handful of competent innings? No.
Even the most absurd moments — your Eric Byrnes biking out of the clubhouse, your Ken Griffey Jr. naps — felt reasonable, or at least par for the course.
What, then, to make of the Mariners winning their eighth straight game tonight against the Chicago White Sox by a 6–3 score?