had two goals heading into his final start of the season: to go over 200 strikeouts and reach 160 innings pitched.He accomplished both.Paxton quickly checked off the first item http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey , striking out leadoff batter Jurickson Profar to become the sixth pitcher in team history to reach 200. In his second start back since missing time after a bout with pneumonia, he also reached his other goal, allowing one run and striking out nine over six innings as the Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 on Saturday night.“I felt a lot better. Felt like I had my energy back,” Paxton said. “It was great to get 160 innings like I wanted to do. Getting 200 strikeouts was special. I’m looking forward to building off this season and getting where we want to get to next year.”Seattle’s ace becomes the first Mariners pitcher to reach the 200 strikeout mark since Felix Hernandez in 2014. He also finished the season with a career-high 160 1/3 innings pitched. He wasn’t able to equal last season’s career-high 12 wins, as the no-decision left him at 11-6.Mariners closer Edwin Diaz also reached a milestone with his league-leading 57th save, tying Bobby Thigpen’s 1990 mark for second-most all time.“It’s an unbelievable number,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “He’s just a special talent.”Nick Vincent (4-4) pitched a perfect seventh inning to earn the win.Paxton had three strikeouts in the first inning, but also gave up Adrian Beltre’s run-scoring double as the Rangers took a 1-0 lead.Texas starter Adrian Sampson — who grew up in Redmond, just outside of Seattle — nearly stole the spotlight from Paxton, holding Seattle scoreless through four innings. The Mariners tied the game in the fifth on Mitch Haniger’s sacrifice fly, and then roared ahead in the seventh.Dee Gordon hit a two-out triple to give Seattle the lead and end Sampson’s outing. Jean Segura and Robinson Cano each had RBI singles later in the inning to give the Mariners a three-run lead.Sampson (0-3) ended up allowing three runs and seven hits, with four strikeouts and no walks.“It was disappointing not to be able to win that battle right there,” said Samson Sparky Anderson Jersey , who estimated he left about 60 tickets for friends and family. “Hats off to Dee right there. Just throwing the same pitch just one too many times, he made me pay for it.”WINNING SEASONSeattle improved to 88-73, equaling the sixth-best win total in team history. “It is a little bit of a disappointment, but at the end of the day, 88, 89 wins, whatever we end up with, it is an accomplishment,” Servais said. “It’s one of the better years in Mariners history. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten over the hump, and that’s getting back to the postseason.”TRAINER’S ROOMRangers: Trainers checked on LF Carlos Tocci in the fifth inning, after he hit the wall catching Haniger’s sacrifice fly and stayed down on the warning track in pain after the play. Tocci remained in the game. … Interim manager Don Wakamatsu said he thinks Nomar Mazara continues to be hampered by his thumb. Mazara missed nearly a month on the disabled list with a right thumb sprain, and is hitting .220 since returning on Aug. 16. “We think he’s on the right track Jack Morris Jersey ,” Wakamatsu said. “Obviously the biggest thing over the winter is going to be evaluating that thumb and making sure he’s healthy going into spring training.”Mariners: Gordon returned to the lineup in CF after missing three straight games with a sore toe after fouling a pitch off his foot Tuesday.UP NEXTRangers: RHP Yovani Gallardo (8-7, 6.40 ERA) will make his 18th start. He has taken the loss in each of his last four starts and is 1-6 in his last eight starts.Mariners: LHP Roenis Elias (2-1, 2.93) will close out Seattle’s season with his third start. Elias, who has also made 19 relief appearances, has not gone longer than 3 2/3 innings in any start this season. The New York Yankees swept the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend. It was a much-needed bit of good news in what has mostly been a late-season collapse for New York.On June 29, the Yankees were 53-26 and tied with the Boston Red Sox for first place in the American League East. Since then, they've gone 25-20 and entered play Monday in second place, 9.5 games behind Boston.New York opened August with five consecutive losses, four of them to the Red Sox. Not only were the Yankees getting buried in the division, but it was possible they'd whiff on one of the AL's wild-card spots.Those fears were allayed, at least temporarily, by the sweep of Toronto. The Yanks own the top wild-card position. A return to the playoffs is probable, if not assured.Still Michael Fulmer Jersey , this is not the outcome New York was hoping for after marching to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series in 2017 and shooting out of the gate in 2018 as a power-hitting juggernaut.Even if the Yanks squeeze into the postseason, will their late-season swoon prompt a massive spending spree this winter to assure they're a true powerhouse rather than a mere contender?This much is undeniable: The Yankees have major questions marks.Frank Franklin II/Associated PressKey young stars (or hopeful stars) such as outfielder Clint Frazier, first baseman Greg Bird and catcher Gary Sanchez have been hit by injuries and beset by underperformance. Outfielder Aaron Judge is sidelined by a fractured wrist that has taken longer to heal than initially expected. Shortstop Didi Gregorius is dealing with a bruised heel.The starting rotation is an even bigger concern. After looking like a Cy Young Award contender early in the year, ace Luis Severino has posted a 6.58 ERA in July and a 5.40 ERA in August. Veteran left-hander CC Sabathia's body appears to be breaking down. Left-hander Jordan Montgomery is on the shelf after undergoing Tommy John surgery.Add it up, and the Yankees have a roster begging for upgrades all over.Prior to the 2009 season, New York spent nearly $425 million to add Sabathia, right-hander A.J. Burnett and first baseman Mark Teixeira.Those contracts were burdensome, especially on the back end, but the Yanks went on to win the World Series in 2009.Could they follow a similar formula in this winter's rich free-agent class, when prizes such as outfielder Bryce Harper and infielder Manny Machado will be ripe for the picking?The Yankees managed to stay under the luxury-tax threshold even after adding salary at the trade deadline, as Mike AxisaofRiver Ave Blues outlined. And the luxury-tax cutoffwill rise from $195 million in 2018 to $197 million next season and $210 million by 2021.If the Yanks brass wants to spend big, it can.Rob Carr/Getty ImagesIt could hinge on how 2018 plays out. Maybe New York gets some injured players back, Severino rediscovers his ace-like form Leonys Martin Jersey , the stars align and the Bronx Bombers go on a deep run.But if Boston runs away with the division and the Yankees' flaws doom them to an early October exit, the temptation to throw dollars around will be tantalizing.Grab Harper or Machado and toss in Patrick Corbin, who's averaging 11 strikeouts per nine innings with a 3.18 ERA for the Arizona Diamondbacks.Or heck, go huge and get Harper and Machado and figure out where to put them later. Pair them with Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Watch opposing pitchers melt in their cleats.That would likely represent an outlay of $700 million or more. It might be something of a pipe dream.But these are the Yankees, with 27 titles and a well-deserved Evil Empire history at their back. Anything is possible."I don't like our position," Yankees general manager Bryan Cashman said in late July, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. "I want to be where they are.""They" being the Red Sox. The archrivals. The measuring stick.Cashman deserves credit for rebuilding New York's farm system and adding bushels of burgeoning talent in recent years. A lot of that talent has blossomed and provided the franchise with a strong foundation. Now, it may be time to pull the trigger on an old-fashioned spending spree.In other words, it may be time for the Yankees to be the Yankees鈥攔isk and perception be damned.All statistics and standings current entering Monday and courtesy of Baseball Reference.