They took the scenic route to get there — but got it done, nonetheless.

The Mariners went 5-2 against the Royals and Pirates in their final homestand prior to the All-Star Break, racking up some much-needed wins to rise back up to six games over .500.

Headed into the week, fans likely hoped to see series wins against both teams, but were disappointed by a four-game series split against the scuffling Royals, who went 8-18 in June. The Mariners responded, however, and swept away the Pirates over Fourth of July weekend to make up for it.

In three games against the Pirates, the Mariners did not allow a single run — and it’s probably good that they didn’t as they rode that performance to 1-0 wins on both Saturday and Sunday, with George Kirby out-dueling All-Star phenom Paul Skenes in the latter.

Randy Arozarena highlighted the Mariners’ offensive efforts this week, blasting six homers — among nine total hits — over 27 plate appearances to slug 1.038. His 276 wRC+ this week was fifth among hitters with over 20 plate appearances this week.

Dominic Canzone also showed some hot hitting this week, putting up a 207 wRC+ in his 17 plate appearances. His continued production since being recalled from Tacoma could lead to more at-bats outside of the more favorable platoon matchups, especially in an outfield that has lacked consistent production from the right field spot in the absence of Victor Robles.

As mentioned in the newsletter last Monday, the Mariners were needing to stack some wins this week with two road series against quality opponents coming up against the Yankees and Tigers to close out the first half of the season. With a home series against the division rival Astros coming up right after the All-Star Break as well, the M’s will have a shot to solidify their standing in a very murky American League hierarchy.

Pitching staff begins to heat up as arms get healthy

For much of this season, injuries have plagued the highly-touted Mariners pitching staff, forcing reliance on a number of unproven arms in the interim. Names like Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryce Miller have all missed chunks of time in the first several months.

As a result, production didn’t live up to high expectations in the first half; despite putting up the best team ERA in baseball in 2024, the Mariners are in the bottom half of the league in the same statistic in 2025.

Don’t look now, though, but the Mariners’ pitching staff is beginning to live up to their billing.

A packed schedule forced the Mariners to play on 17 consecutive days beginning in late June and leading into early July. Despite no days off, Mariners pitching has begun to step up in a big way and cover up some of the offense’s inadequacies.

In particular, the Mariners’ bullpen has risen to the occasion with very little margin of error. One could argue that recent weeks have been their finest moment so far this year, despite the high stress they have been under. It has shown in the standings, with the Mariners racking up five one-run wins since June 16, which is tied for the most in baseball in that span (Houston, Toronto). Their bullpen ERA of 2.47 is also the lowest in the Majors in that timeframe.

High-leverage reliever Matt Brash, who finally returned in May from Tommy John surgery, has allowed only one run in his first 21 appearances this season. In 19.1 innings pitched, he has already accumulated nine holds. Gabe Speier has stepped up as the Mariners’ lone southpaw, striking out a whopping 13.5 hitters per nine innings, which is eighth among qualified relievers.

Closer Andrés Muñoz has continued being Andrés Muñoz, with his 1.06 ERA ranking third in baseball and best in the American League among qualified relievers. He trails only Randy Rodriguez of the Giants (0.69) and old friend Chris Flexen for the Cubs (0.83).

Recent days have looked a lot more like what we would normally expect of the Mariners’ pitching staff. If they can keep it up, and the offense can continue to produce more than they have in the recent years, there could plenty of potential to put everything together down the stretch.

Four Mariners to represent team at All-Star Game

In addition to catcher Cal Raleigh starting for the American League, three other Mariners were named as reserves on the All-Star roster this last weekend.

Andrés Muñoz, Julio Rodríguez and Bryan Woo will all head to Atlanta next week to represent the Mariners in the Midsummer Classic. The Mariners’ four representatives are tied with the Tigers for the second-most of any team in the Majors, trailing only the Dodgers, who are sending five players to the Big A.

This will be the first All-Star selection for both Raleigh and Woo. It’s Muñoz’s second selection, though he did not appear in the game in his first opportunity last year.

While Rodríguez has displayed less power at the plate in 2025, spurring some whispers among the fanbase about the former Rookie of the Year’s offensive production, it seems as though his outstanding defense and name recognition powered him to his third All-Star selection.

Know your opponent: New York Yankees

A rather large opportunity is lining up for the Mariners this week. The Yankees, thought of as one of the best teams in baseball headed into this year, have run into quite the rough patch in the last several weeks as they’ve watched their significant seven-game lead in the AL East evaporate in just over a month’s time.

The Yankees have lost 16 of their last 23 games dating back to June 13.

The Mariners head to the Bronx on a bit of an emotional high, having shut out the Pirates in each of their last three games and besting Skenes on Sunday. These are two teams in two very different places right now. The Mariners will absolutely need to take advantage of catching the Yankees at an ideal time in the schedule.

This is Rolling Roof Rundown’s twice-weekly Mariners newsletter. You can follow James @rollingroofrundown.com on Bluesky and, if you haven’t already, subscribe to the newsletter for more news and commentary. Rolling Roof Rundown is now on Instagram and Threads as well.