SEATTLE _ Maybe it isn't so much about who is missing from the Mariners' lineup in a given game. With the way this season has gone, rare is the day when manager Scott Servais has put out the full compliment of starting players. And with Robinson Cano suspended till Aug. 14, they will continue to be less than full strength going forward.
Maybe it's more about, who is in that day's lineup and how they will somehow contribute to a team that has found ways to scratch out victory after victory because that's what the Mariners are doing right now.
With a patchwork lineup that looked like it was pulled from the spring days of the Cactus League, the Mariners completed their first series sweep of the season, rolling to a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at Safeco Field.
The Mariners have won eight of their last nine games to improve to 32-20 on the season. It was their first three-game series sweep of the Twins since Aug. 17-19, 2012. It was also their 15th comeback win of the season.
"We all want to win," said first baseman Ryon Healy. "That's the bottom line here, every single day. It's not about I come here and I want to get my hits or I want to come here and make a spectacular play. It's I want to come here and I want to win. If I go from 0-for-4, but have a couple defensive plays and save a couple of runs in the process. I want to win. I think everyone in this locker room feels that way. And it shows on the field."
Healy had been mired in a funk coming into Sunday's series finale, hitting .156 (7 for 45) with a .436 on-base plus slugging percentage and 13 strikeouts in his last 12 games. And yet he had three hits, including the biggest hit of the game.
With two outs and runners on first and second in the eighth inning, Healy lashed a line drive to left center off of reliever Addison Reed. The ball rocketed on a handful of hops all the way to the wall for a two-run double, breaking a 1-1 tie.
As he stood on second, Healy let out a primal scream that was a mixture of anger, frustration, elation and relief.
"I released so much energy on that double," he said. "I think I let about 10 to 15 strikeouts, a couple broken bats and a lot of bad at-bats. You just kind of yell it all away from you. You compress it for so long because you are competing. Finally you have some positivity and you release the emotion, it's a great feeling."
With a two-run lead and closer Edwin Diaz unavailable after having thrown four of the last five games, right-hander Alex Colome, who officially became a Mariner earlier in the morning, was brought into a familiar situation in his debut with his team. The ultra-intense Colome, who led MLB with 47 saves last season, worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close out the win.
"Colome is a serious dude," Servais said. "He's all business. He's a man of very few words. I welcomed him to the team. I said, 'I'll see you in the ninth inning.' And sure enough, that's when I saw him. Great addition.' "
Healy's clutch hit and Colome's save secured a much-deserved win for Seattle starter Mike Leake, who delivered his best outing of the season and one of his best since joining the Mariners at the end of last season.
Leake pitched a season-high eight innings, allowing just one run on four hits with no walks and two strikeouts to improve to 5-3.
"He was sinking the ball just off the plate and using the changeup, curveball and slider early in counts," Servais said. "When he gets on a roll, he can be very efficient. He can just go back and forth so well _ slow them down and speed them up. Mike's feeling good physically. You can see it the last few times out, the finish on his pitches. He's getting down the mound good. It's been good results."
Leake's performance was even better considering he was working with a brand new catcher. Veteran Chris Herrmann was called up before Sunday's game and the two had a minimal amount of time to get to know each other.
"It's matter of coming up with a nice game plan," Leake said. "He's been in the league before and he's got a pretty good feel for how to pitch to guys and go after big league hitters."
Leake outdueled Twins starter Jose Berrios, who pitched 7 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on eight hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.
After the Twins got a run in the second inning off of Leake, Kyle Seager tied the game in the fourth, launching a solo homer into deep right field. It was ninth of the season.
"It hasn't been that great lately," Seager said of his swing. "I've been around balls. I haven't felt too good. But results are good and make you feel better. There's still work to be done. It's at least going in a positive direction."
But it was Seager's glove that played just as an important role in the game. He made a handful of difficult plays at third base and made them look relatively easy in the process.
"He saved two or three guys on base and saved me quite a few pitches," Leake said.
Since April 24, Mariners starting pitchers have posted a combined 3.18 ERA in 31 games.
"That's what been amazing about the run is how good our pitching has been," Seager said. "They've absolutely carried us for a while. We didn't get much going till that eighth inning. We've been grinding offensively. We're a resilient group. But our pitching has absolutely saved us."
