1995 American League West tie-breaker game
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The Kingdome, site of the 1995 American League West tie-breaker game
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| Teams | |
|---|---|
| Date | October 2, 1995 |
| Venue | The Kingdome |
| City | Seattle, Washington |
| Umpires | John Shulock, Jim Evans, Larry Young, Greg Kosc, Mark Johnson, Ken Kaiser |
The 1995 American League West tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1995 regular season, played between the California Angels and Seattle Mariners to determine the winner of the American League's (AL) West Division. The game was played on October 2, 1995, at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington. The game was necessary after both teams finished the strike-shortened 144-game season with identical win–loss records of 78–66. Seattle won the game by a score of 9–1, securing its first postseason berth in franchise history. It was counted as the 145th regular season game for both teams, with all events in the game added to regular season statistics.
The game matched two highly unlikely teams: the Angels had not been to the postseason since 1986, and had not finished above third place in the AL West since. On the other hand, the Mariners had never been to the postseason, and before 1995 only had two seasons with a winning percentage above .500. With less than two months left in the 1995 regular season, the Angels held a comfortable lead in the AL West standings, 11 games ahead of the second-place Texas Rangers and 13 games ahead of the third-place Mariners. However, the Mariners mounted a late-season comeback, coupled with a late-season collapse by the Angels, to force the tie-breaker.
After winning the tie-breaker, the Mariners advanced to play the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series. They won the series in five games on an 11th-inning double by Edgar Martínez in Game 5. After advancing to the AL League Championship Series, they lost to the Cleveland Indians in six games. The Angels, meanwhile, did not earn a trip to the postseason until 2002.
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