Choose your fighter: The Nats fan’s rooting guide to the MLB playoffs

The Mariners ended a 21-year playoff drought, the longest in major professional sports, by clinching a wild-card berth with Cal Raleigh’s walk-off home run Friday.

Nats connections: Under interim manager Jim Riggleman, the Mariners swept the Oakland Athletics in the final series of the 2008 regular season to finish 61-101. Some 2,500 miles away, the Nationals were swept by the Phillies to fall to 59-102. By virtue of finishing with the worst record in the league, the Nationals secured the top pick in the 2009 draft, which they used to select consensus No. 1 prospect and future World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg. The Mariners used the second pick to draft Dustin Ackley, who hit .241 over six forgettable major league seasons. Thanks, Seattle.