TORONTO — In a game defined by numbers, what they mean, how they’re analyzed, dissected down into percentages and decimal points that help tell the story, these are now the two sitting directly in front of the Seattle Mariners.

48 and 27.

Forty-eight seasons to date of going without, while every other franchise currently in Major League Baseball has at some point reveled in the unhinged joy of reaching the stage that ultimately defines success in the game.

And 27. As in 27 outs to go for a berth in the World Series.

“We know what it means. There’s no kind of hiding it, or things like that. Just the reality. We can go to the World Series with one more win. But we got to win the game,” M’s center fielder Julio Rodríguez said. “We got to win the game. We got to stay present in the moment

See Full Page