SEATTLE – As Adrian Houser’s pitch count steadily climbed from a lot to absurd in the first inning, and the large crowd at T-Mobile Park basked in the endless Sunday afternoon sunshine, having already witnessed Ichiro throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Randy Johnson, Cal Raleigh hit his 45th homer of the season – a two-run laser to right – and a two-run single from Eugenio Suárez, an easy, drama-free victory and a series sweep of the Rays seemed inevitable.

The grass surrounding the mound was littered with Mariners icons before a single pitch was thrown. The players that go by a singular word or nickname. Junior. Felix. The Big Unit. Bone. Edgar.

Ichiro’s induction in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown will be immortalized with the fourth statue to be installed at T-Mobile Park.

After three decades, Jay Buhner still said it best: Fudge the wild card. (Only, to reference Ralphie in “A Christmas Story”: he didn’t say “fudge.”)

With the Mariners trailing by two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Cal Raleigh turned on a 2-0 sweeper from Tampa Bay Rays reliever Griffin Jax and blasted it 417 feet out to right-center field, sending the Mariners to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory in their series opener.

SEATTLE – One of the Mariners key acquisitions at the trade deadline is now dealing with a shoulder injury that the M’s hope ends up only being a day-to-day issue.

SEATTLE – In a game where it seemed like they might find any possible way to hinder a successful outcome, the Mariners still managed to pull out a victory and complete a series sweep of the Chicago White Sox.

SEATTLE – “They don’t beat the teams they are supposed to beat.”

Eugenio Suárez hit a mammoth two-run home run — his 37th homer of the season and first since his return to Seattle — and Bryan Woo threw a seven-inning gem to lead the Mariners to a 8-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox in the opener of their three-game series Tuesday night before a crowd of 30,686 at T-Mobile Park.

SEATTLE – Gallup doesn’t monitor the approval rating of MLB executives. But if it did, Jerry Dipoto’s would look like a seismograph during an earthquake with its sharp spikes and sudden drops.

SEATTLE – With the Mariners acquisition of Caleb Ferguson, Gabe Speier at last has a left-handed friend out in the bullpen.