The path to the promised land was always going to include a heavy dose of sky-high anxiety. This is the Mariners, after all, MLB’s only organization that’s never played in the World Series and whose fanbase specializes in stress.

Pointing to the 2009 Yankees is instructive but misleading. With Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera, that team could survive three errors and three GIDP because it paired run prevention depth with lineup length and innings coverage.

Down 2-1 late in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, Mariners fans likely had a deep, hollow feeling inside. It appeared that the Blue Jays were

Cal Raleigh’s leadoff home run tied Game 5 of the American League Championship Series in the bottom of the eighth, and four batters later, Eugenio Suárez unleashed an opposite-field grand slam that lifted the Mariners to a 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at T-Mobile Park.