Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh said it best when describing the feeling of playing winning baseball:

“I love winning! I fucking love winning!! You know what I’m saying? It’s, like, better than losing?!”

It was a monumental scene from the classic film Bull Durham, where the succulent highs of success finally began seeping into the souls of a once downtrodden minor league baseball team. A pinnacle moment where the young, highly prized pitching ace – blessed with a million dollar arm but plagued with a five cent head – began to understand the simplistic joys that come from winning ballgames.

And right now, the Mariners undoubtedly share in Nuke LaLoosh’s fervor. Because, for the past three weeks, the Mariners have been winning. And they surely have to be loving it. At least, loving it more than losing.

It was roughly four weeks ago that the Mariners found themselves mired in an eight game losing streak. A streak that dropped the Mariners from second place in the AL West with a 7-5 record and 1.5 games behind division leading Oakland, to fourth place, a 7-13 record, and 6 games behind division leading Oakland. A losing streak of the “here we go again” kind, and signaling the beginning of the collapse everyone had been bracing for, albeit far earlier than most expected.

But the Mariners turned the tables on their cynics and, uncharacteristically from season’s past, pulled themselves up by the stirrups and proceeded to win 13 of their next 18 games, including two of three from Texas, sweeping two from New York, and taking three of four from Oakland.   The Mariners’ rebound has them now boasting a 20-18 record, 2^nd place in the AL West, and just 3.5 games behind division leading Oakland.

All of which is fairly remarkable considering their injury-riddled pitching staff has been without Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton, and Taijuan Walker for most of the season, and their offense has been one of the worst within the division, ranking fourth in BA (.235), OBP ( .298) and OPS (.675).

So, what gives?

In assessing the Mariners’ performance thus far, two explanations seem apparent.

First, the Mariners’ pitching – both the starters and relievers – has been strong.   Led by ace Felix Hernandez, and receiving better than expected performances from rookie Roenis Elias and veteran Chris Young, the Mariners’ starting rotation ranks 2^nd in ERA (3.72), and 3^rd in BA against (.246), OBP against (.304) and OPS against (.699) among it’s division rivals.   The relief corps is performing even better, ranking 2^nd in ERA (3.40), BA against (.236) and OPS against (.688), and 3^rd in OBP against (.334).

More significant than their pitching, however, is a Mariners’ offense that continues to produce in the clutch. That’s right, clutch. You know, the statistic that shall not be named? The word that creates more controversy than Miley Cyrus twerking, and more debate than whether The Sandlot is a cute, uninspired kids movie, or pure cinematic genius?

No matter where you stand in the whole clutch exists/does not exist conversation, what has been undeniable this season is that the Mariners’ offense – while fairly dormant thus far – has flourished with runners in scoring position. Among the AL West, the Mariners’ offense ranks 1^st with a .781 OPS with RISP, which is pretty clutch, especially when compared to their lackluster .626 OPS with the bases empty, well below the league average OPS of .704.

Of course, maintaining a near .800 OPS with RISP is an unreasonable expectation for any team, and the Mariners will surely regress in that statistical category. But it is a notable improvement for a team that has averaged just a .664 OPS over the last five seasons in such situations. Then again, with the season only 38 games young, it very well could be just the by-product of small sample size. Only time will tell where the “OPS with RISP” truth lies this season. But wherever that may end up being, right now the “truth” for the Mariners is marked by their current success in getting base runners home. And that success is aiding in wins.

As Nuke LaLoosh so eloquently reminded, “This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.”

And in the case of the 2014 Mariners, sometimes you get surprising pitching and clutch hitting, both of which has kept the Mariners relevant in the AL West race.