After winning the American League West title and securing the AL’s No. 2 seed in the playoffs, the Seattle Mariners are waiting to see who their first playoff opponent will be.

How Seattle Mariners are approaching ALDS roster construction

The Mariners will face the winner of the wild-card series between the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers in the ALDS, starting with Game 1 on Saturday at T-Mobile Park.

The Tigers and Guardians, two teams heading in distinctly different directions at the end of the year, begin their best-of-three series Tuesday. Here’s a closer look at both of the Mariners’ potential ALDS opponents.

Cleveland Guardians
Records & rankings

Record: 88-74 (AL Central champion)
Record vs. Mariners: 2-4
Record vs. teams above .500: 42-47
Runs scored: 643 (28th in MLB)
Batting average: .226 (29th)
On-base percentage: .296 (29th)
OPS: .670 (29th)
wRC+: 87 (28th)
Home runs: 168 (20th)
Stolen bases: 129 (11th)
ERA: 3.70 (4th)
Starter ERA: 3.86 (10th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.44 (third)
Opponents’ batting average: .238 (10th)
K rate: 22.8% (t-12th)
BB rate: 8.7% (t-19th)
Home runs allowed: 169 (6th)

How they got here

While the Mariners had the magic of the Etsy Witch during their run to the AL West title, the Guardians went on a magical run of their own to capture the AL Central crown. Cleveland went on a run of 14 wins over 15 games as part of an MLB-best 20-7 record in September to erase a deficit to the Tigers that was as high as 11 games during the month.

Cleveland’s remarkable finish came without the services of three-time All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase. Clase and starting pitcher Luis Ortiz remain on non-disciplinary paid leave while being involved in a sports-gambling investigation from MLB.

Three names to know

: The Guardians don’t have much firepower on offense, but they do have one of MLB’s most underrated hitters in their switch-hitting third baseman

Cade Smith: With Clase out, Smith has helped stabilize Cleveland’s strong bullpen as its new closer. The right-hander posted a 2.93 ERA and 1.96 FIP with 104 strikeouts over 73 2/3 innings this season.

Gavin Williams: A former top pitching prospect, the hard-throwing Williams has hit his stride in his third pro season. His 3.06 ERA over 167 2/3 innings was tops among Cleveland pitchers with at least eight starts.

Detroit Tigers
Records & rankings

Record: 88-74 (Third AL wild card berth)
Record vs. Mariners: 2-4
Record vs. teams above .500: 44-43
Runs scored: 758 (11th)
Batting average: .247 (16th)
On-base percentage: .316 (14th)
OPS: .730 (12th)
wRC+: 103 (12th)
Home runs: 198 (10th)
Stolen bases: 61 (30th)
ERA: 3.97 (17th)
Starter ERA: 3.91 (11th)
Bullpen ERA: 4.05 (17th)
Opponents’ batting average: .241 (t-12th)
K rate: 22.8% (t-12th)
BB rate: 8.0% (t-8th)
Home runs allowed: 187 (14th)

How they got here

The Tigers enter the postseason coming off an epic collapse to lose the division to the Guardians, but they were able to avoid missing the playoffs despite posting the second-worst September record in MLB at 7-17.

Detroit was baseball’s best team through first half of the season with a 59-38 record at the All-Star break, but that was the same time it started to slide. The Mariners swept the Tigers in their final series before the break, and Detroit went 1-9 in its first 10 games of the second half.

Three names to know

Tarik Skubal: Detroit’s ace appears to be in line for his second straight AL Cy Young award. The Seattle U product was first among MLB pitchers in fWAR (6.6) and WHIP (0.89) and second in strikeouts (241). He also led the AL in ERA (2.21). However, Skubal went 0-2 with a 5.91 ERA in his two starts against Seattle this season, including his only loss at home.

Riley Greene: Greene led the Tigers in hits (155), doubles (31), home runs (36), RBIs (111) and OPS (.806) during his second straight All-Star campaign. The left-handed-hitting outfielder does most of his damage against right-handers, slugging 32 of his home runs and posting an OPS nearly .250 higher than against southpaws, which could be an issue for a Seattle rotation that features only right-handed starters.

Kerry Carpenter: Carpenter is another left-handed bat that feasts on right-handed pitching, and he’s been particularly good against the Mariners throughout his career. In 11 games against Seattle, he’s hitting .375 with a .900 slugging percentage, 1.290 OPS and six homers. He’s also hit well in T-Mobile Park, posting a .381 average, 1.238 OPS and three homers in six games.

More Seattle Mariners coverage

• ‘Ready to compete’: Julio looks forward to Seattle Mariners’ playoff run
• Seattle Mariners optimistic about Bryan Woo’s availability for ALDS
• State of the Mariners: Where they stand heading into playoffs
• Seattle Mariners will face either Guardians or Tigers in ALDS
• Mariners will scrimmage in front of fans as they prep for ALDS