Are the Mariners turning it around?

What the heck is going on? The Mariners have their longest winning of the season... three... after thumping the Orioles last night 6-2 behind a complete game by plumber look-alike Joe Saunders. Extra-base hits are coming at more of a frequency for Seattle, which probably changed their tactics after perfecting the weak ground out to the third baseman.

The Mariners also won their first series of the season against the LA Angels, and in a shocking development they're in third place of the AL West ahead of the Angels and the Astros. We might be seeing something of the power surge for Seattle and while it's not immediately showing up in the runs category you're seeing signs of life from Kyle Seager, Michael Saunders, Kelly Shoppach and Jason Bay. The team is still just hitting .240 but that's an improvement. Heck, even offensive black hole Dustin Ackley has improved to hitting .241 on the season.

Meanwhile the starting pitching has still been stellar and Tom Whilhelmsen has become a lock-down guy. Seattle is at least winning the low-scoring games, and once the offense comes around more, they should be able to get a few more W's even if the opposition puts across a few runs.

This might be a turnaround in the season, so keep a close eye on what the Mariners are going to do here in the next month. Maybe Eric Wedge will even crack a smile.