Mariners must conquer Minute Maid Park to move on

HOUSTON -- The Mariners’ road to a competitive resurrection was always going to weave through the walls of this band-boxed ballpark that sits on the Northeast edge of downtown Houston.

The Mariners already returned to relevancy by ending the drought, and they boldly took it a step further by showing that they belong in these playoffs with a historic, series-clinching comeback in one of MLB’s most hostile road environments in Toronto.

Yet, their ambitions are even grander, and to fulfill them, they’ll have to conquer this venue that for an entire era has been their house of horrors, Minute Maid Park, where they are 7-30 since embarking on their organizational overhaul ahead of 2019.

The Mariners' rebuild is firmly in the rearview, and the team's path to the promised land continues in this AL Division Series, which begins today -- against the opponent that it’s been chasing for years. This matchup is another embodiment of how baseball has a way of manifesting the poetic.

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“They’re really good, we understand that,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We are really good. We respect everybody in the game. I know I certainly do. I know how hard this is. But our club fears no one. I truly believe that.”

Beyond the great theater, adding intrigue to this best-of-five round is that these teams don’t like each other.

Mariners players hardly ever refer to the Astros or their star-studded roster by name, instead opting for some rendition of “that team” or “those guys.” They won’t speak about their contempt, either, always saying that they treat their 19 regular-season matchups with Houston “like any other,” even though it’s clearly otherwise. Losing that often to one opponent is frustrating, but there’s also the sign-stealing saga that evoked resentment.

The Astros, meanwhile, view Seattle as the pesky younger sibling, second-fiddle in a division that they’ve won five of the past six years.

“They have been there, we have not,” Servais said. “But I do know that to go to the World Series, you have to go through Houston.”

It’d be too bold to call this a rivalry when the results have been so one-sided -- Seattle won seven of 19 this year -- but it’s become increasingly clear that the Mariners have the Astros’ attention.

“This year's team is the best I’ve ever played against,” Astros superstar Jose Altuve said. “They look good, obviously. I think what I see is a lot of union, a lot of chemistry going on there.”

In June, both benches cleared after Ty France was hit by a pitch on his back from reliever Héctor Neris, after which Astros manager Dusty Baker said, “it appears there’s some bad blood brewing, even from last year.”

His reference was to a July 26, 2021, game in which the Mariners stormed back from behind seven runs and won on a remarkable go-ahead grand slam by Dylan Moore off reliever Brooks Raley, who then hit J.P. Crawford in the next plate appearance and was ejected and later suspended, along with Baker.

“This place hasn't been kind to us, and we need to turn it,” Servais said after the June incident. “Sometimes, a little emotion and playing on edge helps.”

So much has changed in the four years since Seattle began its rebuild -- except the constant atop the AL West. The Astros were a contributing factor in prompting the Mariners’ management to tear down an aging and expensive roster, stock its farm system for the long haul and wait out Houston’s reign. Yet, even with the departures of superstars like George Springer, Carlos Correa and Gerrit Cole, and that the Astros have emerged on the other end of their scandal, they remain a juggernaut.

After facing Toronto in the Wild Card Series, one of the AL’s best-hitting teams, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said: “We really took the hard road, didn’t we? And we got through it, but now we’ve got to go take the next step, which is also a hard road. But this team does hard pretty well.”

So palpable is the recognition of what’s ahead in this ALDS that it was the final subject of Servais’ address before he uncorked the champagne celebration after Saturday’s win.

“Y’all know where we’re headed,” he said, glancing to all corners of the room, his tone exuding sneaky confidence.

“It ain’t gonna be easy,” he followed, bridging that conviction with humility as he raised his hand, celebratory cigar firmly in place.

“Are you ready?” he concluded, already knowing the answer when peering into the eyes of a group so hungry to carve out their own place in franchise history.

“We’re ready!” shouted third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who then uncorked the first of many bottles that left the visiting clubhouse at Rogers Centre looking like a marsh. And if the Mariners have their way, the next celebration will be Astro-nomically sweeter.