The Mariners have a 7-10 record in games they were favored on the moneyline, winning 41.2% of those games. They have been underdogs three times this season, winning once.
The Rangers have won three of the seven games they were the moneyline favorite this season, translating to 42.9%. As underdogs, Texas has played ten times and secured victories in six of those games.
McKay has had an interesting career, oscillating between coaching and front office roles. He had been a coach in college ball for a number of years, before working for the Rockies in the minors as peak performance coordinator. Then he spent a long time working in the Mariners' player development department, getting hired in October of 2015. That was not long after Jerry Dipoto had become Seattle's general manager. Dipoto and McKay had worked together with the Rockies.
The Dodgers were the only club who had to advance through the wild card round, and the reigning World Series champs aren't exactly underdogs. In fact, all of the Brewers, Mariners, and Blue Jays had a lot more questions to answer about their playoff readiness given a recent lack of postseason success, yet all three teams were up to the task in winning their League Championship Series matchups.
The Tigers and Mariners get their AL Division Series underway tonight in Seattle, with rookie Troy Melton starting for Detroit against former All-Star George Kirby. Both teams will go with 14 position players and 12 pitchers on their 26-man rosters for the series.... Keith and Hanifee are newcomers to the playoff roster, replacing Paul Sewald and Justyn-Henry Malloy. Right ribcage inflammation has kept Keith from playing since September 18, and he wasn't quite ready to go for the Tigers' wild card series against the Guardians.