SEATTLE -- In preparation for the postseason and while utilizing their five off-days before the American League Division Series, the Mariners will host a pair of six-innings scrimmages next week that will be open to the public.
The first will be on Wednesday, with gates opening at 1 p.m. and first pitch slated for 2 p.m. They will host another on Thursday, with gates at 4 p.m. and the game at 5 p.m.
Tickets, which are available at Mariners.com/Scrimmages, are $10 for general admission seating on the main level, with proceeds benefiting Mariners Care Foundation. Concessions and other facilities will be available to fans throughout the main concourse.
“It’s critical that we do whatever we can to stay in rhythm,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said in a release from the team. “We want to create the most realistic game conditions possible for these scrimmages and our fans are the most important part of that real-game atmosphere in T-Mobile Park.”
Seattle will open the best-of-five ALDS at home next weekend -- against the winner of the Wild Card Series that would feature two teams among the Guardians, Tigers or Red Sox -- with Game 1 slated for Saturday, Oct. 4, and Game 2 on Sunday, Oct. 5. Games 3 and 4 would be on the road, then Game 5 would be back at home.
Start times, which are determined by MLB, have not yet been announced and they might not be until after the conclusion of the Wild Card Series, which runs through Thursday.
ALDS Game 2 could have some logistical complications, as it’s slated for the same day that the Seahawks are hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 1:05 p.m. PT kickoff at neighboring Lumen Field.
According to a report from ESPN on Saturday, city officials have said that the SoDo area home to both venues is not designed to support two games played at the same time due to traffic and overcrowding possibilities.
ESPN also reported that the MLB playoffs would take precedence in a decision-making process, meaning that the Seahawks’ game could be pushed back anywhere from 90 to 150 minutes. The Mariners and their opponent would be making a long voyage to the East Coast after Game 2 that night as well, which could play into the start-time decision.