The Seattle Mariners seem to have run out of time in their quest to reach the p

layoffs for the first time since 2001.They’ve lost four of their past five games to fall 9 1/2 games back of the second wild-card spot in the American League. Seattle has 17 games left heading into its series opener Thursday night against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium.Article continues below ...The Mariners (79-66) had a three-game lead over the Oakland A’s for the second wild-card position at the All-Star break Tyson Ross Jersey , but Oakland has surged past the Mariners with a 34-15 mark in the second half.Seattle is 21-27 since the All-Star break.“The second half of the season has been very poor,” Seattle manager Scott Servais told the Tacoma News Tribune after a 5-4 loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. “It’s focus. It’s being prepared and ready to come with an edge to your game every day, and that is a personal pride matter.”The Angels (73-73) are playing better of late. They’ve won six of their past seven to get back to .500. They lost six of the first nine games against the Mariners this season before winning four of the past six.The Angels are getting productive at-bats of late from some of their most inexperienced players.Francisco Arcia hit two home runs in an 8-1 victory against the visiting Texas Rangers on Wednesday, and Jose Fernandez homered in a second straight game after hitting his first major league home run Tuesday.“I just want to hit the ball and put it in play,” Arcia told Fox Sports West after Wednesday’s win. “I feel amazing. I try to do my job and play hard.”On Thursday, Mariners right-hander Mike Leake is scheduled to make his 29th start of the season and fifth against the Angels. He’s 1-3 against Los Angeles this year with a 5.59 ERA.Leake has made at least 30 starts in each of the past six seasons, a mark only reached by Ian Kennedy Allen Craig Jersey , Jon Lester and Max Scherzer in that span.Leake (9-9, 4.11 ERA) made back-to-back starts against the Angels in July and neither went well.He allowed four runs (three earned) and nine hits in four innings of a 7-4 loss in Seattle on July 4, and seven runs (five earned) and 12 hits in four innings of a 9-3 loss at Angel Stadium on July 10.“They’ve just been aggressive,” Leake told reporters after the second loss.Leake got on a roll after the second game against the Angels, producing six consecutive quality starts from July 15 to Aug. 15.Leake struggled in back-to-back outings against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Oakland A’s in late August, but was sharp in his most recent appearance, holding the Baltimore Orioles without an earned run over six innings in a 5-2 victory Sept. 5.Leake http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-brad-hand-jersey , who was selected eighth overall in the 2009 draft, 17 spots in front of Angels center fielder Mike Trout, has a team-leading 18 quality starts this season.Overall in his career against the Angels, he’s 3-3 with a 4.05 ERA in six career starts.The Angels plan to start Odrisamer Despaigne (2-2, 6.40) on Thursday and continue with a string of relievers, a tactic that worked well Tuesday against the visiting Texas Rangers. Eight relievers combined for a 1-0 victory, holding the Rangers without a hit for 7 1/3 innings.Despaigne has not faced the Mariners this season Tony Gwynn Jersey , and he allowed one hit and no runs in one inning of relief in 2016 in his only career appearance against them. CC Sabathia has confirmed 2019 will be his last year as a Major League Baseball pitcher.The New York Yankees left-hander made the announcement Saturday during a press conference."I just wanted to make this announcement that 2019 is my final season," Sabathia said.Bryan Hoch BryanHoch#Yankees LHP CC Sabathia announces that 2019 will be his final mlb season: GMfNVIOxxZSabathia had been expected to make public his decision retire at the end of his 19th season. SNY.tv's Andy Martino reported Wednesday the Yankees were planning a press conference this weekend for the six-time All-Star.New York Yankees YankeesOne mans #LegaCCy. Oooh3RnPsw"All I ever wanted was to be remembered as a good teammate ... and I anticipate 2019 will be a championship season," Sabathia said, per ESPN's Coley Harvey.It's a testament to how beloved Sabathia is that the Yankees rounded up a number of quotes from athletes, celebrities and government officials congratulating him on a great career:James Wagner ByJamesWagnerThe Yankees amassed a wide array of voices about Sabathia career, from Derek Jeter to LeBron James to Steve Kerr to Fat Joe: sN1dbPYcsEBryan Hoch BryanHochAmong those congratulating CC Sabathia on his career: LeBron James. a3MIYWLUORSabathia, 38 Dave Winfield Jersey , has had health problems in recent years. He's only reached 30 starts in a season once since 2014 and has fallen short of 155 innings three times during that span.The Athletic's Ken Rosenthalreported in December that Sabathia had to undergo an angioplasty after a blockage was found in one of the arteries in his heart."We are thankful that CC was smart enough to convey his symptoms to our medical staff, and in turn, they immediately engaged New York-Presbyterian Hospital, who quickly determined the root cause of what ailed him," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters. "We are also encouraged that the procedure CC underwent was performed as planned."Knee problems have also been an ongoing problem for Sabathia. The California native has had to wear a brace that helps keep him stabilized while pitching and will eventually need to have knee replacement surgery.In the prime of his career, Sabathia was one of the best pitchers in MLB. He debuted at age 20 for the Cleveland Indians in 2001, finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting to Ichiro Suzuki.PerFanGraphs Rollie Fingers Jersey , Sabathia's 67.8 wins above replacement lead all MLB pitchers since 2001.Sabathia won the AL Cy Young Award and helped Cleveland reach the American League Championship Series in 2007. The southpaw had one of the best second-half runs in 2008. He posted a 1.65 ERA with seven complete games in 17 starts after being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers to help the team win the NL Wild Card.After he signed with the Yankees the following offseason, Sabathia finished in the top four of AL Cy Young voting in each of his first three years with the team. He was named MVP of the ALCS en route to helping New York win the World Series in 2009.The Yankees have championship aspirations this season after they won 100 games in 2018. Sabathia will attempt to end his career on a high note with another World Series title before hanging up his cleats for good.