With their second consecutive 18-hit, 10-2 thrashing of the Kansas City Royals, the Mariners are beginning to look like the dominating offensive team that they have on paper. The Mariners have batted .414- .377 with runners on base- while scoring 22 runs over the past two games. That's more runs than they had scored in their preceding six games.

Today's offensive outburst leaves the team fourth in the league in batting at .277, and follows a not too distance trend in which the M's were unable to score more than four runs in nine out of eleven ballgames. Let's just hope they have some more runs in store for the rest of the weekend series against the Royals.

Even Adrian Beltre was getting in on the act. One day after being benched to clear his mind after three hitless games, Beltre knocked three hits -one double- in four at-bats to raise his average up to .249. Richie Sexson also picked up a couple of hits including a double, meaning Big Sexy has hit .450 with four RBIs over his past five games. It may be a couple of weeks since Richie has hit a home run, but obviously his bat is coming around and I'll take his recent production over nothing at all.

I predicted a pitching match-up, and it turned out to be a one-sided affair. With Ichiro hitting his 24th career lead-off homer and Raul Ibanez also scoring in the first inning due to Sexson's double, Gil Meche didn't have the benefit of being staked to a 6-0 lead this time around. Indeed, the Mariners had no problem with Meche's offerings as they handed Meche his worst outing of the season. Over his past two starts, Gil has delivered fairly common numbers that Mariners would expect: 12 earned runs allowed in 9.1 innings, giving up 19 hits and three runs. There's the Gil Meche we all knew and loved. Or at least tolerated.

And Felix stepped up with a promising outing, showing that for all intents and purposes the dominating Felix we saw earlier in the season had returned. Hopefully, this time for good. Felix held the Royals in check, allowing just two runs on seven hits over 5.1 innings. Some back tightness required his removal from the game in the sixth inning, a removal that Felix was none too pleased about as his frustration was well exhibited for all to see. Regardless, once again the Mariners' dynamite bullpen stepped in and completed the job, allowing just one hit over the final 3.2 innings. John Huber, recently recalled from Tacoma to fill the roster spot vacated by Horacio Ramirez who is headed to the DL with shoulder tendinitis, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to slam the door shut.

Can the M's recent offensive outburst benefit Cha Seung Baek in tomorrow's game? In his first four starts of the season, Baek was getting tremendous run support as the M's averaged 8.5 runs as he took the mound. Yet somehow Baek was unable to pick up a win while getting all that support. Over his last two starts, the M's have scored just two runs. Which version of the M's offense will be showing up tomorrow? Regardless, as Baek held the Royals to one run in six-plus innings a month ago, expect for Baek to have another strong performance in tomorrow's game.

Brian Bannister is taking the mound for the second time in his career, and both times against Baek. In fact, Bannister is looking to avenge the 5-1 loss he received at the hands of the Mariners a month ago. Bannister allowed three doubles to Mariners hitters in that start, and if the game is anything like today's, expect to see more doubles and some home-runs.

Final: 6-2, M's. But any win means nothing if the Angels and the A's never lose...