Seattle Mariners

Welcome to the no-hitter club, Hisashi Iwakuma.

Seattle Mariners slugging outfielder/DH Nelson Cruz left June 22's game against the Kansas City Royals due to a pelvic injury. He would return to the lineup the following day, the team announced.

A disappointing Seattle Mariners team will have to play much better in the second half of the season than it did in the first half to have any shot at making the postseason.

Through 70 games, the Mariners sit at a lowly 32-38. That's 8.5 games behind the surprising Houston Astros in the American League West, and six teams currently stand between Seattle and the second wild card.

Even the great ones stumble. So there's not necessarily cause for panic in Seattle after Felix Hernandez turned in another rough outing Friday night.

But man, that was one rough outing. 

Before the 2015 season started, the Seattle Mariners were praised by many for their impressive pitching staff. With its first two picks in this year's MLB draft, the Mariners boosted their rotation by adding more depth.

With Miguel Montero and David Ross both available at catcher for the Chicago Cubs, Welington Castillo became surplus to requirements, and the team traded him to the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first had the report:

For the first time in several years, the Seattle Mariners are in win-now mode at the major league level rather than looking more toward the future.

The graduation of many top prospects, particularly on the pitching side, has left Seattle's farm system a little thinner than it has been previously. While the Mariners in no way have a bad farm system and haven't been trading away too many prospects, most of the exciting young players are in the majors.

The Seattle Mariners entered the 2015 Major League Baseball season with championship aspirations, but their inconsistent play has them toward the bottom of the American League standings.

Prior to this year, Nelson Cruz has been known as strictly a power hitter. He averaged 27 home runs per season from 2009-2013 and then made the most of his one season in Baltimore by leading the league in round-trippers last year.

The first five weeks of the 2015 season have been filled with surprises for the Seattle Mariners.

Offseason acquisition Nelson Cruz has been on a tear nobody could have seen coming and is currently leading the majors by a healthy margin with 14 home runs. Cruz has really helped Seattle stay afloat during a rough stretch of play.