2 hours ago 1

Mariners given wildly simple task to clinch playoff spot, AL West title

The Seattle Mariners need to win three games this week to ensure, no matter what the Houston Astros do, that the AL West Division title belongs to the Pacific Northwest.

And fittingly, the Mariners have just arrived at the on-paper easiest games they could've had, starting Tuesday night.

Seattle is hosting the Colorado Rockies for a three-game series.

The Rockies enter Tuesday night at 43-113, but that's not the worst.

Colorado is going to have the worst run differential of any team since 1900. They've allowed 404 more runs than they've scored so far this season.

In a different time on the calendar, it'd almost be easy for the Mariners to look past the Rockies.

Not right now, though. The division title is in reach. It's something Seattle hasn't won since 2001.

The Dodgers await on the weekend, too, a much tougher matchup. So if the Mariners can just handle the Rockies, they won't have to even stress about that series.

Seattle has a lot of paths to the playoffs. A division magic number of 3 means if the Astros lose three games, or the Mariners win three, or if their combo of wins and losses adds up to three, then the Mariners have the division.

Even if Seattle falters, it could still make it as a Wild Card team.

But there's an easy path here: Beat the worst team in baseball history three times, and go to the playoffs. Sounds simple enough.