After going a dismal 8-19 in May that dropped them into the cellar of the mediocre AL West, the Mariners have played inspiring baseball in June, going 3-0 to begin the month.
I understand that three games isn't exactly the 1995 comeback all over again, but if you look at the numbers going back into later May, this team is showing signs of life.
Some of the struggling bats appear to be waking from their early season slumber, namely Jose Lopez, who is hitting .395 with 3 home runs in his last ten games. Chone Figgins, who was off to a puzzlingly bad start, has begun to heat up as well, hitting .278 over his last ten and scoring 8 runs.
They have also managed to get timely hitting from some newcomers. Recently called up catcher Eliezer Alfonzo is hitting .500 with a home run, and may be the answer the Mariners have been looking for behind the plate.
Journey man infielder Josh Wilson has stepped in for the injured Jack Wilson and is hitting at a .308 clip, including more than a fair share of big hits.
From the DH position, we've seen a resurgent Mike Sween give the Mariners some much needed power.
When it comes to starting pitching, nobody does it better in baseball than the Seattle Mariners. Felix Hernandez has struggled, but has appeared to get it on track his last two outings. And then there's Cliff Lee, who's just been an assassin on the mound, mowing hitters down left and right with his trademark cool demeanor.
The biggest surprise has been the work of the young guys at the back of the rotation, Doug Fister and Jason Vargas. Both sport sub-three ERA's into June. Nobody saw that coming.
Is it enough to make a run?
Time will tell. If they can put it all together-the pitching, the timely hitting, and keep getting a little bit of power-anything is possible.
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