When you look at the Seattle Mariners’ September surge that vaulted them to their first AL West division championship since 2001, it’s pretty easy to find where the tide turned.
Seattle Mariners on winning division title: ‘Fans here deserve that’
That would be a Saturday, Sept. 6 game against the Atlanta Braves where the Mariners snapped a four-game losing skid and won for just the third time over a period of 16 road games.
Beginning with that 10-2 victory over the Braves, the Mariners have won 16 of 17 games to remove themselves from the wild card conversation and instead insert their name into contention for a bye straight to an American League Division Series.
That day in Atlanta carries a lot more importance to the Mariners’ incredible season than just being where their hot streak began. And the way the Mariners won that game is a crucial part of the story.
With the game tied 2-2 in the top of the seventh inning, three-time All-Star center fielder Julio Rodríguez put the M’s on top with an absolute rocket of a two-run homer that traveled 441 feet into a fountain in dead center. From there, the Mariners poured it on with six more runs over the final three innings.
Rodríguez, who went 3 for 5 with three runs scored, four RBIs and a tremendous defensive play that day, also hit a long two-run homer in the first inning to give Seattle an early lead in the game.
The timing of Rodríguez’s big performance sticks out in the mind of Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto.
“I thought it was the best game Julio’s ever played in his career,” Dipoto said during a Seattle Sports interview with Mariners insider Shannon Drayer in the M’s clubhouse after their division-clinching win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. “He hit a key homer that looked like a 2 iron over the center-field fence, and from that moment on, we had our swag back.”
President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto speaks with @shannondrayer on how the #Mariners overcame adversity in early September to win 16 of 17 games and the AL West Title. pic.twitter.com/OiiMFMHdTV
— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) September 25, 2025
At least one member of the franchise on the receiving end that night noticed it, as well.
“I think one of the Braves people said it to me, like, uh-oh, now you got your swag back,” Dipoto continued. “And you need that. We are a team with some swag. We have a little bit of show, we have a lot of personality, and that’s what makes our team fun. And that day in Atlanta, I think we found it again, and they’ve not let off the gas since.
“We’ve lost one game (since), and we probably should have won that one.”
The Sept. 6 win in Atlanta began a 10-game winning streak for the Mariners, and it came just a few days after the Mariners had a team meeting in the midst of being swept by the Rays in Tampa Bay. Dipoto is impressed with how the Mariners players handled that meeting – and responded after it.
Dipoto doesn’t rule out superstition potentially playing a role in it all, too. You may know about the Etsy witch. You’ve probably seen the mustaches that have been populating the Mariners’ clubhouse this month. And you may have even heard about one ritual Dipoto is directly involved in, which is supplying a fresh bag of Cheetos to Mariners Radio Network play-by-play announcer Rick Rizzs before each game during the hot streak.
“On the last East Coast trip when we went through a really tough spell, we went through the series in Cleveland, we went into Tampa, and those last couple of games in Tampa, it was embarrassing,” Dipoto said. “And for our guys, I think it was they felt in that moment we need to do something different.
“… We put ourselves in a challenging position three or four weeks ago, and I cannot be more proud of the way we responded. Every single guy came out rolling. It’s from our impact middle-of-the-order bats, the guys at the bottom (of the lineup) who make it go, to the starting pitching that for the first time all year, really, all five of them are starting in sync, and it’s made a huge difference. Our bullpen guys at the back have carried a tremendous load. Rick’s Cheetos, you know? The mustaches. Some witches. And that’s all it took.”
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