The young phenom that many of the 36,224 spectators at Safeco Field came to see make his 2014 home debut on a rain-soaked Wednesday afternoon stood in front of his locker. Taijuan Walker spoke about incremental improvements as he prepared to make the short trek down Interstate 5 to Tacoma, to where he was optioned shortly after a 3-2 loss to the Mets.

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If general manager Jack Zduriencik needed further impetus to pull the trigger on an offensive upgrade, he got one Tuesday night.

Zduriencik had to feel like he was being prodded with a hot poker as he watched the Mariners squander another outstanding effort from a starter in a 3-1 loss to the Mets Tuesday. This time it was Erasmo Ramirez who dazzled in a spot start in front of 18,681 at Safeco Field.

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Hisashi Iwakuma was one out from a complete-game shutout on the night the Mariners honored him with a miniature likeness, handed out to the first 20,000 fans through the Safeco Field gates. Lots of Seattle heads were nodding in approval as the Mariners won 6-2 to claim the series from the A's, with one more Sunday afternoon.

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On a warm Thursday in July, the Mariners turned back the clock to March. Instead of starting Felix Hernandez on normal rest, manager Lloyd McClendon trotted out much of his bullpen, spring-training style, to salvage a split in a four-game series with the Twins.

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All season, manager Lloyd McClendon has the same refrain when the Mariners' punchless offense is brought up.

"We're challenged," is the usual the reply. Wednesday, McClendon stood at the podium after an 8-1 defeat at the hands of the Twins and again tried to stay positive, despite scoring seven runs in the past six games.

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The Mariners made a move to get better Tuesday. It just had no affect on the game that followed.

Chris Young (8-5, 3.08 ERA) pitched another fine game, only to be out-dueled by Twins starter Phil Hughes, who continued his resurgence in Minnesota with 7.1 shutout innings in a 2-0 triumph.

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It's safe to say Hisashi Iwakuma enjoys facing the Twins. He entered Monday's start at Safeco Field with a 4-0 record and 0.00 ERA in 26.2 career innings against Minnesota. He furthered that dominance with another scoreless seven-inning gem on the way to a 2-0 Mariners triumph.

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A first-inning wild pitch by Mariners rookie starter Taijuan Walker, which scored Conor Gillaspie from third, stood up in a 1-0 loss to the White Sox in Chicago. Seattle came into the Sunday matinee looking for a fifth consecutive series win to go with a season-high 10 games over .500, but instead allowed former Mariner Hector Noesi to shut them out over nearly seven innings.

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In a game that looked destined to be another tough-luck loss for starter Felix Hernandez, the Mariners (48-39) showed mettle with a 3-2 comeback win over the White Sox that took 14 innings in Chicago (41-47) Saturday.

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The Mariners are on a run unseen in Seattle in seven years --  nine games above .500. After five unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh innings provided a 5-2 win Wednesday for a three-game sweep of the Astros in Houston, the Mariners also picked up three games in three days on the AL West-leading Oakland A's. Seattle trails by 4½ games.

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During the last homestand, manager Lloyd McClendon spoke about the desire to see the entire Mariners offense get hot together. After a 10-4 win Monday, the Mariners followed up with a 13-2 victory over the Astros Tuesday. Looks like Seattle may be fulfilling his wish as it moved a season-best eight games over .500 with a fifth consecutive road win.

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In his much-anticipated season debut, Taijuan Walker showed the jitters and inconsistency expected of a 21-year-old. But in a 10-4 Mariners victory over Houston Monday that pushed Seattle to a season-high seven games over .500,  he also showed the unbridled talent that has so many in the organization excited.

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With the way the season has gone, a one-hit shutout loss was probably the least likely way most would have predicted the Mariners to reach the midway point of their 2014 season. Saturday night, that is exactly what the team was handed by Josh Tomlin and the Indians in a 5-0 loss in front of 23,012 at Safeco Field.

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Endy Chavez had two opportunities early in Friday's game against Indians starter Trevor Bauer, only to leave four runners on base. In his fourth plate appearance, Chavez made amends.

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Coming off a rare rough start, Hisashi Iwakuma had every intention of returning to form with an efficient victory to send the Mariners to a season-high six-game winning streak Wednesday.

It was not to be.

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The past three times Felix Hernandez took the hill, the Mariners managed a single run of support over the 22.2 innings he pitched. Hernandez yielded two earned runs while suffering two no-decisions and a loss -- an unfortunate run amid winning baseball. Something had to give. Monday, it finally did.

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For the second consecutive game, the Mariners came up with a timely ninth-inning hit for a go-ahead run to beat the Royals. Saturday it was Dustin Ackley's turn, his single driving in the difference-maker in a 2-1 win in sweltering Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

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In one of the most dramatic wins of the season, Brad Miller delivered the go-ahead home run in the ninth inning to propel the Mariners to a confidence-boosting, 7-5 win over a hot Royals team Friday in Kansas City.

After Charlie Furbush notched the final two outs with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, Miller promptly quieted a sold-out Kauffman Stadium with the big fly off closer Greg Holland.

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Erasmo Ramirez and the Mariners deserved a better fate Thursday at Petco Park. Unfortunately for them, the Padres didn't care. San Diego pulled off a 4-1 win and emerged with a 2-2 split as the teams concluded their season series.

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What exasperated the Mariners Friday happened all over again Wednesday -- another brilliant outing by their ace wasted. For nearly seven innings, Felix Hernandez was flawless against the Padres. He made one mistake — a wild pitch in the sixth — that left a pivotal blemish on his outing.

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