Mariners: 5 takeaways from much needed series win series versus Indians

2) Mariners’ offense returns in style

While Kelenic provided the spark on Friday night, he was far from the only bat to have an impact for Seattle against Cleveland. In the consecutive 7-3 wins, the home side totaled an impressive 18 hits.

Chief among the Mariners in those two games were Mitch Haniger, Kyle Seager and Dylan Moore. Haniger and Moore both had three hits and three RBI, while Seager added two hits and an RBI of his own.

However, it was the final game of the series where Seattle’s offense arguably did its finest work. While three runs and five hits may not sound like much, some context suggests otherwise.

Facing Shane Bieber, the Mariners figured to be in for a rough afternoon. In the end however, it was the reignign AL Cy Young winner who endured a tough day at the office.

Bieber struggled with his command from the word go, with just 59 of his 103 pitches going for strikes. He tied a season high with four walks and was chased out of the game after just 4.2 innings, making it his shortest outing in two seasons.

This also ended the 25-year-old’s run of 40 straight starts pitching at least five innings. In addition, he saw his MLB record of consecutive starts with at least eight strikeouts stopped at 20.

As in the two previous games, Haniger was key to what the Mariners achieved on offense, with two hits and a couple of walks. He leads the ball club in batting average, hits and RBI, while also being tied for the Major League lead with 12 home runs.

The 30-year-old was ably assisted on the day by Lewis and J.P. Crawford, who combined for three hits, three RBI and a trio of walks. Lewis is back to where he was last season, while Crawford continues to prove he is now one of the more reliable bats in the lineup.

Overall, the Mariners remain at or near the bottom of the league in team batting average, OBP and OPS. However, they are slowly taking steps in the right direction, aided by Lewis’ return from injury and likely from the arrival of Kelenic.

In addition, Ty France will be hoping to return sooner than later from injury, to further boost the offense. As we recently wrote, there is quite simply too much talent in this lineup to languish at the bottom of the league rankings for an entire season.

After Sunday’s game, Servais made a point about how hitting can be contagious. Speaking to the media, he said:

“When you get a couple of guys going, it starts to spread up and down the lineup. It’s just a better vibe and feeling.

“I thought the last couple of nights we did some nice things offensively and I was hoping it would carry into today. I certainly respect their starter and what he’s done, but we were ready.”

That the Mariners achieved all this against a Cleveland ball club which entered the series with a 20-14 record is definitely encouraging. Now they will aim to continue improving, against a struggling Detroit team which is third-worst in the Majors in team pitching for ERA and WHIP.

NEXT: GRAVEMAN VS. MONTERO