Join us » Carrington led Seton Hall with 21 points after missing his first

SEATTLE -- While the Oakland As enter their final series of the season in the all-too-familiar position of also-rans, the Seattle Mariners are in somewhat unfamiliar territory.The Mariners (84-74) will be on their home turf for a late September series that actually matters. Seattle trailed Baltimore by two games in the American League wild-card race and has a legitimate shot at ending its 16-year playoff draught. By taking two of three games against the Houston Astros, the Mariners have kept their postseason chances alive.We have a shot, third baseman Kyle Seager told MLB.com after Wednesday afternoons 12-4 win over the Astros. We obviously need some help. We cant control that, but we just need to continue to play as long as theyll let us.The Mariners open the four-game series against the hapless As (67-91) on Thursday needing to win at least three games to have a realistic chance of staying in contention. Adding to the complication is a Detroit team that sits between Seattle and Baltimores current spot for the second wild-card berth, meaning the Mariners are going to need two teams to stumble at the finish line if theyre going to have any kind of a shot at getting into the postseason.Seattle has not been to the postseason since winning 116 games in 2001. The Mariners own the longest playoff draught in Major League Baseball and are the only American League to never make an appearance in the World Series. Star pitcher Felix Hernandez, who is scheduled to start Sundays regular-season finale, has never pitched in a postseason game.Hernandez and fellow veteran Hisashi Iwakuma are scheduled to pitch the two weekend games, but the Mariners will rely on a pair of youngsters to keep them in the race until then. Ariel Miranda, a 27-year-old rookie, is scheduled to start Thursdays series opener, while 24-year-old Taijuan Walker is on tap to start Friday.Miranda (5-2) has been a surprising contributor to a team that acquired him at the trade deadline. At the time, Seattle was falling out of playoff contention and traded veteran starter Wade Miley to Baltimore in an effort to get younger. Miranda, coincidentally, has since joined the rotation and now might be a key to Seattle catching the Orioles in the wild-card race.Oakland will go with 25-year-old Kendall Graveman, who is about as close as the young As have to a veteran starter. Graveman (10-11) got tagged for 12 hits and eight runs in a 14-3 loss to Seattle 2 1/2 weeks ago, and hes failed to beat the Mariners in four tries this season -- going 0-3 with a no-decision. He cant expect much offense from a team that has scored an AL-low 638 runs heading into the Seattle series.The As are 26 1/2 games behind division-leading Texas and were officially eliminated from the wild-card hunt earlier this month, so the only motivation is playing the role of spoiler to a longtime West Coast rival.Theyre right in the middle of it and I think that will be good for our guys, too, Oakland manager Bob Melvin told The San Francisco Chronicle this week. Nothing is on the line for us, but whenever youre in that atmosphere, theres an intensity to it thats similar to postseason.Itll be good for us, inspirational. There will be big crowds and lots of excitement. Good for them, and hopefully good for us, too. Hector Bellerin Arsenal Jersey . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Hector Bellerin Jersey . 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"Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. NEW YORK -- After his team blew a four-point lead in the closing seconds, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard provided simple instructions.Get the ball to Desi Rodriguez, and then get out of the way.Khadeen Carrington set up Rodriguez for a tiebreaking a layup with 11.6 seconds left and Seton Hall beat No. 16 South Carolina 67-64 in the Under Armour Reunion at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.The Pirates went ahead when Rodriguez took an inbound pass from Carrington and drove along the baseline for the basket.(Willard) told me to look for Desi coming off the baseline, Carrington said. He had the big guy on him. I knew he could take him. I gave it to him and I spaced out. I just let him go.Seton Hall led 64-60 after a foul shot by Rodriguez with 1:49 left, but the Gamecocks rallied and tied it on two free throws by Justin McKie with 34.3 seconds remaining.Willard said it was dead silent in the huddle when he called a timeout with 17 seconds remaining. That worked for him.Its not a democracy in timeouts, Willard said. Theres definitely a dictatorship. Sometimes they get to say things -- not with 10 seconds left after we just gave up a four-point lead. These guys do a good job listening for the most part. It was a pass to Desi and everybody get out of the way.After the layup, PJ Dozier missed a 3-pointer for the Gamecocks, and Myles Powell knocked down one free throw for Seton Hall (8-2).He almost gave me a heart attack, Carrington said of Doziers missed 3-pointer.The Pirates trailed by nine early in the second haalf before rallying.dddddddddddd Carrington led Seton Hall with 21 points after missing his first five shots.Theyve got some tough, tough dudes that dont back down, Gamecocks coach Frank Martin said. They got a culture of winning that was kind of established last year with obviously the season they had and they just got us, plain and simple.Dozier scored 20 points for South Carolina (8-1), which shot 38.6 percent and was outscored 40-30 in the final 20 minutes.BIG PICTURESeton Hall: Free throws had proven difficult for Seton Hall at times. The Pirates entered Monday making 61 percent of their attempts but hit enough to stay within striking distance during the first half. A 15-of-25 showing in the second half nearly cost them.South Carolina: The Gamecocks held an opponent under 40 percent shooting for the seventh time in nine games, but their lack of consistent offense down the stretch was their undoing.POLL IMPLICATIONSSeton Hall: The unranked Pirates may get some consideration for the AP Top 25 next week thanks to a big win on a big stage.South Carolina: The Gamecocks moved up three spots to No. 16 earlier Monday, their highest ranking since ending 1997-98 at No. 14. Theyll likely slip back with the loss.UP NEXTSeton Hall: Hosts Delaware on Saturday before facing former Big East rival Rutgers on Dec. 23 in its final nonconference game.South Carolina: Visits South Florida on Saturday. ' ' '