Lord almighty, it is hot! I mean hoooootttt! I mean sweat-dripping-down-my-back-in-tiny rivulets hot. I mean continally adding more ice to my underwear hot. I mean the type of hot that forces me to hit on every girl I pass on the street simply so I get the cold shoulder. Know what I'm saying?

So I've avoided sitting in front of my computer in my non-AC office, and have even avoided following most of the M's- Red Sox series in favor of air-conditioned summer blockbusters. ("Lady in the Water"- meh. "Superman Returns"- what "X3" should've been.)

But I gotta admit, though, that I did catch today's game, one of about a handful I've been able to watch on TV so far this year. And let me tell you, it was quite a game. Holey cow was it ever.

Oh, know what else I forgot to say was hot? How about Adrian Beltre's bat. He was denied two home runs in tonight's ball game, as Safeco's dimensions held both balls he slammed just barely in the park. But even if the Gods of Safeco were determined to keep Beltre in the ballpark, Adrian was not to be denied. When the fly-ball he hit in the eighth inning caromed off the top of the fence and the Red Sox threw it around like a Keystone Kops routine, Beltre hustled around the bases to score on an inside-the-park home-run, giving the Mariners a brief 8-7 lead. Granted, J.J. Putz coughed that lead by serving up a two-out home-run to Jason Varitek in the top of the ninth, but Big Richie Sexson won it moments later with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the inning.

In so doing, today's win presented a couple of "firsts" that ended some long dry spelss: Beltre's dash around the bases allowed him his first home-run since June 20 at Dodger Stadium, and the team's nine runs were the first time they scored that many in 19 games. Sheesh.

Let's take a second and look back on the series: In the first game, Jamie Moyer continued to show the further degradation from ace to junk-balling beer-league soft-tosser that his skill levels have been reduced to. The bats in the Red Sox line-up basically used Moyer for batting practtce throughout the 9-4 wallop of the M's. Moyer gave up five home-runs, a career high for home-runs allowed in a game. Seattle knocked out eleven hits, with the only extra-base one being Adam Jones's first major-league double. Beltre went 2-for-4.

Saturday, Felix Hernandez dialed in perhaps the exact opposite of Jamie's performance from Friday night. Dave, Rick, & Red on the radio were calling Felix's outing Saturday afternoon "the best of his career." Indeed, Felix was able to stymie the Red Sox, hand-cuffing them to four hits and two runs in seven innings of the 5-2 Mariners victory. Again, Seattle cranked out eleven hits, this time all of them were singles as they hen-pecked the BoSox's Kason Gabbard, who was making his major league debut. For the second game in a row, Beltre went 2-for-4, scoring a run.

And tonight's ballgmae was a roller coaster of thrills and chills. The game had it all, breaking out to a early three-run lead with Beltre's RBI double in the first, the Red Sox tying it, then Eduardo Perez hitting a home run to stake a 5-3 lead. Julio Mateo coughed up the lead, and an eventual 7-5 hole. But then the M's staged a two-out comeback in the seventh, tying it with two runs off one of the many filthy Red Sox relievers, Manny Delcarmen. Then the trade-off of homers in the final innings before the eventual Mariner "W."

So, contrary to their last home stand, it appears that not only can the Mariners win at home, but they can win against some pretty good teams as well. And today was Beltre's third straight game with multiple hits. In fact, for a good break-down of Beltre's numbers, you should go read the analysis posted over at USS Mariner.

Now that the Red Sox leave town, it's tempting to breathe a sigh of relief, but you still can't quite do that just yet. The Blue Jays follow in on the heels of the BoSox, and judging from the series played between the two clubs last week, the M's continue to have their work cut out for them.

Not only did the Blue Jays just take three of four games from the New York Yankees, they won today in commanding fashion with a final score of 13-5. Casey Janssen is taking the mound for the Blue Jays in tomorrow night's game, and the rookie is more than likely looking to avenge getting roughed up at the hands of the M's two Fridays ago. Casey has lost six of his last seven decisions, including a loss to Texas last week. In the Mariners victory the last time they faced Casy, Adrian went 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs. With his hot bat, I wouldn't be surprised if Adrian continues his streak of two-hit games for the M's.

Joel Pineiro takes the mound for the Mariners. Having missed the Blue Jays in their most recent series- instead the last time we saw Joel pitch he was shutting down the Yankees- Joel brings a career 1-4 record and a 4.72 ERA against the Blue Jays into tonight's ballgame. None of the current Blue Jay batters could be said to "own" Joel, though Vernon Wells does have a .353 career lifetime average off Joel in 17 at-bats and Frank Catalanatto has a .385 average in 13 at-bats. However, Joel has been able to dominate Troy Glaus in their small sample size of at-bats, with Troy only able to hit a meager .188 in 16 at-bats.

Conclusion? I think the Mariners will continue to hit Janssen well, though there's always the off-chance that Casey will make adjustments to the Mariners' hitters and dial in a quality start. But I don't see that happening. So, with the M's able to hit Janssen, their chance of success depends on which Joel shows up: Good Joel or Bad Joel. I see a final score along the lines of 7-6, with whichever Joel Pineiro showing up dictating the Mariner's chances...