The M's hit 10 runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend, something they did a lot of last month.
The Seattle Mariners enter play on Monday at 31-29 and in first place in the American League West. The M's lead the American League West by 2.5 games over the Athletics and Rangers and have won six consecutive games after back-to-back sweeps of the Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks.
While the Mariners also pitched it well in the weekend series against Arizona, the series was really defined by the home run ball.
The Mariners hit 10 home runs in the series, including four each on Friday and Saturday.
Julio Rodriguez, Luke Raley and JP Crawford (2) homered on Friday, with Raley, Dominic Canzone, Rodriguez and Colt Emerson homering on Saturday. Canzone and Cole Young homered in Sunday's win.
After the power barrage over the weekend, the Mariners now have the seventh-most homers in baseball (77). As noted by Kristilyn Hetherington of Mariners PR, the Mariners' 42 home runs in May were tied with the Chicago White Sox for the most in baseball.
Does hitting home runs = being a good team?
Not always, but it's fair to point out that each of the top four home run hitting teams (Yankees, Braves, Dodgers, White Sox) hold playoff spots right now. The Houston Astros, who are No. 5, are just 2.5 games back of a wild card spot. The Washington Nationals, who are No. 6, are only one back of a National League wild card spot.
So, while hitting home runs doesn't birthright you to a playoff spot, it's clear that being able to hit the ball over the wall helps.
Are the Mariners too dependent on the home run?
At times, probably, but also: What matters most is that the Mariners are scoring. In today's pitching climate, it's really hard to string together several hits in an inning. Hitting home runs negates the need for that, and the Mariners have been able to do that.
You'd like to see them be able to manufacture more runs for when the power inevitably dries up, but we saw the Mariners power their way to the American League Championship Series in 2025: the formula clearly works.
This is also something we'll talk about on Tuesday's edition of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast.
Up next
The Mariners will kick off a new series with the New York Mets on Monday night at 6:40 p.m. PT. The Mariners will send Emerson Hancock to the mound while the Mets counter with a bullpen game. The full pitching matchups are here.
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