SEATTLE _ This was a game indicative of what the Seattle Mariners have become as of late _ and what they could still be.
That's a lot to put on one game, especially in early June, especially for a team still under .500. But that's the way it felt on Tuesday, when the Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 12-3 to win their fourth straight game in a blowout.
Look at all that has happened:
_ On May 27, the Mariners lost to the Boston Red Sox and fell to a season-worst eight games below .500. Since then, they have won eight of their last nine games.
_ The offense, which scored five runs or more just three times in 16 games from May 11 to May 27, has now scored at least five runs in eight of the last nine games. They Mariners have scored at least seven runs in each of their last four games.
_ James Paxton, in his second start since returning from an injury, was not nearly as sharp as he was last week _ and he was still OK. He allowed three runs in five innings, a perfectly reasonable outing on a night when the offense exploded.
_ Danny Valencia, who is hitting .348 since the start of May and who has 10 RBI in five games in June, drove in three more runs with a fourth-inning double. Earlier this season, Mariners manager Scott Servais defended Valencia, was patient with him, kept talking about how he was a professional hitter. And now Valencia has been one of the Mariners' most productive hitters and has made the lineup deeper.
_ The Mariners' big three all delivered, pretty much as you'd expect. Robinson Cano crushed a three-run homer in the first inning, his 11th of the season. Kyle Seager also hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning. And Nelson Cruz drove in a run.
_ Felix Hernandez made a rehab start for Class AAA Tacoma, and although he struggled in two innings, he was pain free and is on track to return in less than two weeks.
Most of the season has been spent waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting some more: for players to return, for the team to get healthy, for everything to click. Dealing with and managing injuries is a part of any sport, but the Mariners were hit especially hard.
Their play, their record, often reflected the cold reality of having to rely on so many call-ups and backups.
And now, finally, they've strung together a stretch of games with offensive firepower, with pitching ranging from adequate to exquisite, with the puzzle starting to come together.
They're still without so many players _ shortstop Jean Segura, starters Drew Smyly, Hisashi Iwakuma and Hernandez and outfielder Mitch Haniger.
But this is the offense many people thought the Mariners could have, the kind of consistent performances that were missing most of the season.
Cano started the scoring with a three-run homer after back-to-back walks from Guillermo Heredia and Valencia to start the game. Seager drove in two more runs with a double in the third inning and added three more runs with a three-run homer in the fourth inning.
Valencia also drove in three runs in the fourth inning, thanks to a bases-loaded double, and a single from Cruz accounted for a run in the seven-run fourth inning.
All nine Mariners starters reached base.
