9/7: Open game thread

All season it seem the Mariners have dashed our hopes only to provide a brief, tantalizing glimpse of what they can be when they aren't blowing late leads and/or getting shut down by Joe Blanton. Now, they are making their last offensive on the borders of your heart. We all know that it will take a preposterous miracle. The math is very much not in our favor. I won't pretend to offer you any tangible hope. The Mariners' playoff odds are at 2.2%.

I will only say that same model had their odds at ~70% before the season began. The Mariners have won 5 games in a row. They have 13 of their final 25 games against teams ahead of them in the wild card chase. Tom Wilhelmsen has slid into the closer spot and provided a much needed sense of calm to the season's biggest area of frustration.

Essentially, whatever hope you choose to harbor going into this series demands a sweep to escape intact. The Mariners have written a story where the only happy ending can be a fairy tale one. We had one of those already, although I constantly have to remind myself the majority of today's fanbase was not around to experience it.

The Mariners start a four game series with Texas, in what I hope is a full, sunny Safeco Field. Roenis Elias will have his brim pulled down to the Mike Jackson Zone, Ketel Marte will be at shortstop. Maybe Nelson Cruz comes back and hits home run number forty. Maybe Franklin Gutierrez's legs allow him to add another photograph in his already full-to-bursting 2015 Memory Album. Maybe Brad Miller shows why he's perfect for this team everywhere except shortstop. Maybe Logan Morrison continues his hot hitting. Maybe Shawn O'Malley keeps defying logic for another day.

Maybe the Mariners win their sixth in a row, the longest streak in over two years. Maybe we wake up tomorrow, look at the standings, and let ourselves dream.

Win, ya sources of eternal frustration.

Game info

• Rangers @ Mariners, 3:40 PM PST, Safeco Field
• TV: ROOT, Radio: 710 ESPN, Online: MLB.TV