Houston series didn’t bring fans out to Safeco

SEATTLE – For the first three games of the current homestand, the atmosphere at Safeco Field sure didn’t feel like the Mariners were part of the playoff race.

The three-game series with the Houston Astros had the feel of Septembers past, where sparse midweek crowds would leave voices echoing through an empty stadium.

But this season was supposed to be different, wasn’t it?

After all, the Mariners came into the week with a half-game lead over the Tigers for the second wild card spot. They are a legitimate playoff contender for the first time in more than a decade.

And yet the largest crowd of the three games was Wednesday night with 16,931 as the announced paid attendance. The Tuesday crowd of 11,345 was the second-lowest all season. The Monday crowd of 15,617 was with Felix Hernandez starting and the popular King’s Court promotion running.

It made for easy fodder and snark on social media, while also reflecting true disappointment in the lack of support for a “playoff team.”

“Attendance for a game or series is affected by several factors,” Mariners president Kevin Mather said in an email. “Advance tickets is the driver, because you can expect to walk up only a certain number of fans on game day, especially on a weeknight in September. Who knew from April to August that these three weeknight games against Houston would have postseason implications? All things considered, we think the crowds on Monday and Wednesday night were pretty good.”

But Mariners fans have known that this team was in a playoff race since the All-Star break. They could have purchased tickets for the game weeks ago, particularly knowing the team also plays only nine games at home in the month of September. Yet, there wasn’t an overwhelming impetus to buy tickets.

So what’s the problem?

Well, the Astros are part of the problem. They aren’t a huge draw in Seattle or anywhere. They have some nice young players in Jose Altuve, who notched his 200th hit of the season on Wednesday, first baseman Jon Singleton and injured outfielder George Springer. But they have no stars, and stars draw the average fans. Seven of the Mariners’ 17 smallest crowds this season came against the Astros.

Houston is the worst road draw in all of baseball, with crowds averaging 26,552 in games it plays in on the road.

But the onus can’t simply be placed on the Astros and their lack of stars.

The bigger factor is still an uneasy skepticism among fans about the organization based on many years of losing.

The Mariners were bad for far too long and that angered fans, leading to decreased overall attendance in almost every season since 2002.

It’s something Mariners executives understand.

“Attendance is up 12 percent at this point, and total ticket sales for the year just passed the 2 million mark,” Mather said. “Our fans have been outstanding, patient and loyal. It’s up to us to get them excited. “

The Mariners play three of those games this weekend, opening a three-game series with the Oakland A’s on Friday.

A team source said a crowd near 30,000 is expected tonight and a larger crowd of 40,000 on Saturday. Sunday’s game is expected to draw at least 30,000.