The Seattle Mariners enter Tuesday's series opener with the Miami Marlins at 47-44 and with a 1.5-game lead in the American League West.

Seattle went 5-1 on a recent six-game homestand and has also thrown two consecutive shutouts.

The starting pitching was incredible over those six games, as Seattle starters allowed just six runs in six games, and the pitching staff as a whole threw three shutouts against the Los Angeles Angels and Toronto Blue Jays.

We took a deeper dive into the reasons for success on the most recent edition of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast.

The Mariners signature catch phrase is "Dominate the zone," and the entire rotation did that on this homestand.

George Kirby vs. the Angels: 70 strikes out of 100 pitches (70 percent)

Bryan Woo vs. the Angels: 71/106 (67 percent)

Bryce Miller vs. the Angels: 66/90 (73 percent)

Luis Castillo vs. the Blue Jays: 72/101 (71 percent)

Logan Gilbert vs. the Blue Jays: 63/91 (69 percent)

Emerson Hancock vs. the Blue Jays: 58/92 (63 percent)

When all six of your starters are throwing above 60 percent strikes, and five of six are above 67 percent? That's the definition of dominating the zone.

And that leads to....

Mariners starters had just five walks in those six starts.

"I believe George Kirby had one. I believe Bryan Woo had one. I believe Logan Gilbert had one. And Emerson Hancock had two. Luis Castillo did not walk anybody, as I recall. And Bryce Miller definitely did not walk anybody. (Update: Gilbert walked none and Castillo walked one).

So the Seattle Mariners starters went collectively: five of six starts with 65 percent strikes or greater, six starts, five walks.

When you stop giving the other team opportunities, it's really difficult to play offense.

What did you hear me just say about the Mariners offense? What do they need in order to be successful? I'm rooting for the other team: walk, two-run homer. Walk, single, three-run homer. Hit batter, walk, three-run homer.

I am telling you that the Mariners, in order to score and have impactful offense, they need help from the other team. That's the way offense is. Pitching, when it's at its best, is too good. And if the Mariners keep pitching this way, then they too will make it very difficult for opposing offenses to do anything.

If you don't give up opportunities, if you don't give the other team an inch, if you don't give them extra opportunities, you're very difficult to beat.

You saw what it took on Friday, right? Castillo was excellent. Six innings, two runs. And the Blue Jays needed a brilliant performance from Dylan Cease in order to beat him.

When you do not give up freebies, you're in a hell of a position as a pitcher, and the Mariners were excellent in that regard in this homestand.

And, by the way, every starter pitched at least six innings in this homestand."

And that is a major part of the conversation as well. As the Mariners work with a six-man rotation, they are operating an arm short in the bullpen. Well, if every starter goes six innings or more, then that short bullpen doesn't matter as much.

The Mariners will send Woo to the mound on Tuesday night against Marlins All-Star Max Meyer. He's 9-1 this season. First pitch is set for 3:40 p.m. PT.

The latest edition of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast is now out, and it features former Mariners' 3B Ben Williamson. You can listen here, or you can watch the YouTube player below.

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