Seattle Mariners center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. on the field prior to the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards during the 1998 season. RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Cleveland Guardians Set to Rub Salt in Wounds of Seattle Mariners Fans

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI | By Tom Brew | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 1:30 PM ET

On Friday night, the Seattle Mariners will open up an important three-game series with the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.

Seattle enters play on Wednesday at five games ahead of Cleveland in the battle for the third and final wild card spot, and they'll have a chance to bury the Guardians from the race.

And M's fans will be looking for them to do that after what's going to happen in a pregame ceremony before the series opener.

As noted by Guardians Insider Justin Lada, the Guardians will be honoring the 1995 team that got to the World Series that night. The then-Cleveland Indians beat the Mariners in the American League Championship Series that season to get to the World Series. That was Seattle's first trip to the ALCS.

Happy birthday to Jim Thome. Made a lot of great memories as a young baseball fan thanks to him.

Cleveland celebrates the '95 team on Friday by the way. https://t.co/u3Jg90qV6U
— Justin L. (jlbaseball on bluesky) (@JL_Baseball) August 27, 2025

The Mariners lost the series in six games, ending the storybook '95 season.

Game 1

The Mariners took Game 1 of the series 3-2 behind the great pitching of 21-year-old Bob Wolcott. The righty went seven innings, striking out two and giving up just two runs. Norm Charlton earned the save, and offensively, Seattle was led by Mike Blowers, who went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.

RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Game 2

Cleveland evened the series at one game apiece, winning 5-2. Tim Belcher gave up four earned runs in 5.2 innings for Seattle, and Orel Hersheiser went eight strong innings for Cleveland, striking out seven. Ken Griffey Jr. and Jay Buhner each had home runs for Seattle.

Manny Ramirez hit two home runs for Cleveland.

Tony Tomsic-Imagn Images

Game 3

With the series in Cleveland for the first time, the M's won 5-2 in 11-innings to take a 2-1 series lead. Buhner hit two home runs in the game and Griffey had two more hits. Charlton earned the win, tossing three scoreless innings in relief of Randy Johnson, who threw 101 pitches over eight strong innings.

RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Games 4-6

Just two wins away from the World Series, the M's were unable to get it done as Cleveland won 7-0 in Game 4 and 3-2 in Game 5. A 4-0 shutout in Game 6 ended the magical run, and the Mariners wouldn't get back to the ALCS until 2000.

Cleveland lost to the Atlanta Braves in that World Series, and has yet to win one since.

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: