'Better every day': Keys to Seattle's surge

SEATTLE -- With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, the rebuilding Mariners suddenly find themselves in a very interesting spot. Marco Gonzales fired another impressive seven-inning gem, Dylan Moore racked up four RBIs and Seattle won its sixth straight on Monday with an 8-4 victory over the Rangers.

The Mariners dealt away five players prior to the Aug. 31 Trade Deadline just a week ago, and they have made it clear that this year is all about pointing their young roster toward the future. Yet the rookie-laden group has climbed to 19-22 by winning 12 of its past 16 games and finds itself just two games back of second-place Houston in the American League West, as well as two back of the Yankees for the final AL Wild Card position with 19 games to go.

“We’re just worried about getting better every day,” manager Scott Servais said. “You’ve got to get to .500 first, and we’re not there yet. We’re just learning about ourselves every day out there. We’re going on the road and playing two teams we know very little about [in the Giants and D-backs]. This will be a real challenging trip, and we’re looking forward to it. But this group isn’t afraid of anything.”

• Box score

Gonzales has helped lead the charge as the 28-year-old southpaw improved to 5-2 with a 3.02 ERA, allowing just four hits on two runs with seven strikeouts and no walks. He has 46 strikeouts and just four walks in 50 2/3 innings on the season.

“You’re seeing a burst of confidence from a large majority of this team that is finally feeling comfortable and feeling like they have a good routine down in the big leagues,” Gonzales said. “We’re going out and searching for wins. We’re a very united group and have been since Day 1. I’m excited to see what this last stretch holds for us, because we are playing great baseball right now.”

Moore provided much of the offensive punch with a solo homer and a three-run double, and Kyle Seager added a two-run homer as the Mariners swept the four-game series. Seattle went 8-2 against Texas in the season series.

Moore acknowledged that it would be awesome for the young Mariners to get into the playoffs and gain that experience, something Seattle hasn’t done since 2001, but Gonzales struck a more cautious tone.

“We can’t let that in right now,” Gonzales said. “We have a lot of baseball left to play. So that’s our focus. Tomorrow’s game, one day at a time. There’ll be a time for looking up at that scoreboard and watching, but it’s not right now. We’ve got a lot of time left.”

Here are three things that helped the Mariners get to this point:

Starting pitching (and defense)
These two largely go hand in hand, or hand in glove. The Mariners’ six-man rotation has been superb of late, with Gonzales leading the way. In 17 games since Aug. 18, Seattle’s starters are 10-3 with a 3.28 ERA.

Since trading Taijuan Walker, the Mariners have three rookies in the rotation and don’t feature any real flamethrowers, but they have been getting strikes and relying on the guys behind them to make plays. And that formula has been much better with Kyle Lewis providing solid play in center, shortstop J.P. Crawford and third baseman Kyle Seager playing well on the left side and Evan White’s glove at first base helping the entire infield look better.

The Mariners have committed just one error in their past 11 games.

The schedule
The Mariners have certainly taken advantage of playing the Rangers seven times in their past 14 games -- and winning all seven tilts -- while skipping a three-game series against the A’s when that set was wiped out by an Oakland player testing positive for COVID-19.

Credit the Mariners for taking care of business, but they caught the Rangers at a time when they’ve lost 18 of their past 21 games. Seattle also went 2-2 against an Angels team that was struggling at the time.

Also credit the Mariners for going 2-1 against a good Padres club to start their last road trip and get the hot streak started. The key now, obviously, is the remaining 19-game slate, during which there’ll be increased challenges.

Seattle has four games left against a Giants team playing well and three games against the D-backs, who are last in the National League West. They also have three more against the Padres, plus six against Oakland. Perhaps the biggest three of all will come vs. the Astros in Seattle from Sept. 21-23. Overtaking Houston for the No. 2 spot in the AL West would bring a guaranteed playoff berth in this year’s expanded 16-team playoff format.

Knock on wood
Other than a number of setbacks to their relievers, the Mariners have avoided injuries to the core group, while many teams -- including Houston -- have lost numerous key players. Seattle played things smart by proceeding cautiously with its starting pitchers coming out of Summer Camp, and the six-man rotation has helped keep that group strong as well.

The early loss of Kendall Graveman to a neck issue was mitigated by Nick Margevicius’ ability to step in seamlessly. Since Graveman returned in a relief role, he has looked outstanding in two scoreless appearances to help bolster the ‘pen.

• Ramirez displaying 'a ton more confidence'

Yoshihisa Hirano has also returned from a COVID-19 bout in time to provide the group with a veteran closer type. The bullpen remains a big question mark, but the Mariners have minimized that issue by having their starters pitch deep into games of late, and that formula has been working.

Now the challenge will be to keep it going against better competition.

Up next
Rookie right-hander Ljay Newsome (0-0, 2.57 ERA) gets his second start in place of the traded Walker as the Mariners open a two-game set against the Giants at 6:45 p.m. PT on Tuesday at Oracle Park, live on MLB.TV. The 23-year-old has gone 11 days between outings after Seattle's series with Oakland was postponed, but he held the Padres to one run on three hits in four innings in his debut in the rotation.