SEATTLE – Just how desperate for a hero is the baseball community here? This much: By default, civic sentiment awarded the gold star for character this weekend to a manager who lost 91 games, hitched up his principles and quit.

Oakland had a pair of four-run innings and the Athletics closed out the regular season with a 9-0 win over Seattle in Eric Wedge’s final game as Mariners manager.

The 2013 Mariners season ground to a halt in pitch-perfect fashion Sunday afternoon, with a 9-0 drubbing at the hands of the playoff-bound Oakland A’s.

SEATTLE – Brad Miller hit a pair of home runs, including his first grand slam, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 7-5 Saturday in a game that decided division-series matchups in the American League. Boston clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason with Oakland’s loss. The A.L. West champion A’s will play their playoff opener at home next Friday against A.L. Central champion Detroit, and A.L. East winner Boston will start at Fenway Park against the team emerging from the wild-card playoff: Cleveland, Tampa Bay or Texas.

SEATTLE – Eric Wedge told the Seattle Mariners on Friday that he will not return as manager next season, saying it became obvious he did not have a future with the organization. Wedge will manage the final three games of this season against Oakland before the Mariners begin a search for a new manager.

Eric Wedge told the Seattle Mariners on Friday that he will not return as manager next season, saying it became obvious he did not have a future with the organization.

When Seattle’s Justin Smoak hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning Tuesday night, the Kansas City Royals’ chances for a win and perhaps a postseason appearance were in big trouble.