Mariners clinch 1st division title since 2001

The Seattle Mariners are kings of the American League West for the first time in 24 years.

Seattle clinched the AL West crown Wednesday with a 9-2 win over the Colorado Rockies. Luke Jackson struck out Blaine Crim to get the party at T-Mobile Park started.

Luis Castillo struck out 10 while allowing just one run and one hit over 7 1/3 innings to secure the victory for Seattle.

The division title is only the fourth in Mariners franchise history. They won the AL West in 1995, 1997, and most recently during their record 116-win season in 2001.

Seattle's title also ends the Houston Astros' stranglehold on the division. Houston had won the AL West seven times across an eight-year stretch from 2017-24, including each of the last four seasons.

The Mariners were as many as seven games back in early July before catching fire in the second half. They've won 16 of 17 since Sept. 6, a run that included a 10-game winning streak to push them into first place. Dan Wilson's team then swept the Astros in Houston over the weekend to take control of the division for good.

At 89-69, the Mariners currently hold the AL's No. 2 seed, which would give them a bye ahead of the ALDS. They've already lost tiebreakers to the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees, against whom they're competing for the Junior Circuit's top seed. Seattle owns the tiebreaker against the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians should it come into play for the bye.

The Mariners' remarkable season has been led by catcher Cal Raleigh and his historic 60-homer season. Raleigh became the seventh player, and fourth in AL history, to hit 60 home runs during Wednesday's win. It was also his 11th multi-homer game of the season, tying the MLB record held by Aaron Judge, Sammy Sosa, and Hank Greenberg.

Raleigh's been supported in the Mariners' resurgent offense by Julio Rodríguez, Jorge Polanco, and midseason acquisition Josh Naylor.

Seattle has made the playoffs just six times since 1977 and is the only active franchise to have never played in a World Series.