SEATTLE -- The first question that Scott Servais was asked on Monday afternoon, shortly after the Mariners manager was informed that closer Paul Sewald was traded to the D-backs, centered on how he planned to fill the high-leverage reliever’s role.

Hours later, that fluid plan became a little clearer in a 6-1 win over a Boston team that Seattle is chasing in a crowded American League Wild Card race. The victory also pushed the Mariners to a season-high four games above .500 (55-51) and advanced them to 17-9 in July, tied for the best record in the month with the Orioles and making their approach ahead of Tuesday’s 3 p.m. PT Trade Deadline all the more intriguing.

For all the ups and downs this year, the Mariners climbed to within 3 1/2 games of the final postseason spot, with only the Red Sox and Angels in between -- the very teams they’re playing through this weekend.

“We don't want to go home empty-handed,” said designated hitter Cal Raleigh, who after making Fenway Park history with two homers on May 15, tallied another multi-homer game on Monday against the team he grew up rooting for. “We felt that was like two years ago, in '21. And we just want to keep going. We want to make one of these Wild Card spots, for sure.”

On a night where George Kirby battled efficiency and labored to 97 pitches through the fifth inning, Servais turned to Gabe Speier, Matt Brash, Tayler Saucedo, Andrés Muñoz and Isaiah Campbell, who collectively allowed one run in four innings to reach the finish line, after Raleigh's power show -- and Seattle put up a four-spot in the eighth for insurance.

For good measure, J.P. Crawford made one of the highlights of the season to end the game with a snow cone on a 103.5 mph liner off the bat of Masataka Yoshida that seemed destined for center field.

The relief corps assembly line featured all the usual suspects, but how they were deployed in a Sewald-less bullpen stood out: 

 • Campbell recorded the final three outs, but only because the Mariners created a four-run cushion for the rookie in the eighth. Muñoz, who entered with two outs and two on in the top of the frame and struck out lefty-hitting Alex Verdugo, remained hot in the home dugout after and was billed for a four-out save assignment. It was only after Julio Rodríguez ripped a two-run single that Servais called the ‘pen to have Campbell begin warming.

• Had the lead stayed slim and Muñoz been tasked with carrying the game past the finish line, it would’ve been his third save of the year. It also would’ve been the third time he’d tally four outs in an outing, a feat Brash accomplished after taking over in the seventh and retiring No. 2 hitter Justin Turner on a flyout. Servais then went to the southpaw Saucedo with two lefties looming.

“We're going to have to call on guys that maybe haven't been in spots a little bit more -- but that's what we're going to do,” Servais said. “And we will figure out a way to make it work.”

• Saucedo quickly induced a groundout to contact specialist Masataka Yoshida, but he then surrendered a single to Rafael Devers and a five-pitch walk to pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder -- at which point Servais turned to Muñoz to face Alex Verdugo. Boston’s center fielder entered play with an .821 OPS against righties compared to a .647 clip against lefties, but turning to Muñoz was worth the risk.

“We do a great job -- I don’t want to say creating pitchers out of thin air -- but it seems like we have a really good system,” Raleigh said. “It’ll be interesting to see who takes over [Sewald’s] spot, who we call up and what the next moves are.”

Kirby was again self-critical after not pitching deeper, lasting five innings or fewer for the third time in his past four starts. Settling in early in games has seemingly been the culprit, but on Monday, he grinded through 27 foul balls against a contact-prone team. He also walked his first batter, Jarren Duran, then saw that runner immediately come around to score after consecutive throwing errors from catcher Tom Murphy and Rodríguez in center field.

That said, Seattle’s starters tallied an MLB-high 150 2/3 innings in July, and continuing at that rate would afford Servais a more regularly rested ‘pen to get creative when needed. A more consistent offense, which Seattle has shown in the second half, would also help mightily.