ST. PETERSBURG -- A whopping 3,112 miles separate Tropicana Field and T-Mobile Park, and the Mariners will be covering each of them with a massive exhale after a much-needed 5-2 win over the Rays on Wednesday afternoon that capped arguably their toughest road trip of the first half.

Cal Raleigh crushed a massive, go-ahead homer with two outs in the sixth inning, then J.P. Crawford tacked on two more with a trademark, opposite-field blooper in the seventh. That gave George Kirby and the rest of the Mariners’ bullpen some much-needed run support, especially after Andrés Muñoz struggled to find the strike zone in the ninth, with two walks and a hit-by-pitch before being pulled.

Trent Thornton then entered, induced a run-scoring groundout then a game-ending double play, both sequences with the tying run at the plate -- which secured his first career save.

“I tried to explain that the sky was not falling,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “This is baseball, it happens. You go up, you go down -- you just have to grind through it.”

Muñoz, who was dealing with a lower back strain earlier this month, was feeling off from the get-go, Servais said. But because the Mariners bullpen was heavily taxed and he didn’t pitch the day prior, he was the clearest option.

“He just didn't feel good, just the whole body stuff, and that happens once in a while,” Servais said. “Unfortunately, with the game the way it is today, you've got to let him face three hitters.”

Given how brutal the first eight games were, it was also encouraging that the day’s most critical moments at the plate were manufactured by the Mariners’ up-the-middle trio of Raleigh, Crawford and Julio Rodríguez, who represent the club’s long-term core.

Raleigh’s big blast was easily the day’s highlight, a 422-foot shot that left his bat at 109.9 mph and reached the right-field concourse. Seeking his first All-Star selection, Raleigh crushed the ball all series, with the homer being among five batted balls north of 100 mph, including field outs. He also ripped a 110.1 mph solo homer in Tuesday’s loss, and now has 14 this season.

But Wednesday’s blast was only set up by a nine-pitch walk from Rodríguez after he fell into an 0-2 count -- and with two outs. With more chase in his game lately and in the midst of an 0-for-18 skid, it was a key sequence. It also flipped Seattle’s script after the club’s costliest pitfalls in the first two games were via walks from its pitching staff.

“It was a huge AB,” said Raleigh, who later drew a 12-pitch walk himself. “And it's never it's never easy, especially when things aren't going well, so credit to him.”

As for Crawford, like Rodríguez, he’s also been in funk, entering the day hitting .202 in June. But the shortstop’s insurance knock was emblematic of his production when at his best -- also with two outs, in a two-strike count and top-spinning the ball the other way, just over the infield. It plated both Mitch Garver and Dominic Canzone, who ripped singles to lead off the seventh.

The run production backed Kirby’s effort, after he threw six strong innings with seven strikeouts, zero walks, four hits and just one run -- which was manufactured on a tough-luck infield chopper from Yandy Díaz, who has tormented the Mariners in this building each of the past two years.

Kirby extended his glove to his left and corralled the ball, but because first baseman Ty France was shaded in a shift and it was breaking in his direction, France also attempted to make the play, which left the bag open. Kirby raced there but was a half-step late to Díaz, which allowed old friend José Caballero to score all the way from second base as the game’s first run.

“I know a lot of the righties, Ty was playing off,” Kirby said. “In that situation, I didn't know that. It was on me for not looking, but yeah, I could have gotten there easily if I didn't hesitate. ... I probably should just tried to tag him instead of getting to the bag.”