Total team effort: Mariners exude confidence

SEATTLE — While Robinson Cano helped carry the Mariners early, a soaring Seattle club has pushed its way into the American League West lead because other players keep stepping up on a daily basis as well. And Wednesday it was catcher Chris Iannetta clubbing a walk-off homer and reliever Steve Johnson — called up from Triple-A eight days earlier — picking up his first Major League win since 2013 in Seattle’s 6-5, 11-inning victory over the Rays.

“Honestly, that’s the way it should be,” said Iannetta, a 10-year veteran who has lent a steady hand behind the plate for a team that has won 19 of its last 26 games. “If you lean on a couple guys, you get one-dimensional. If we build a team where you know you can win with any guy in our lineup, it just builds confidence.”

The Mariners are exuding confidence these days as they’ve gone 7-0-1 in their last eight series. They lead the Majors with nine game-winning RBIs coming in the seventh inning or later and they’re 5-1 in extra-inning affairs.

“I keep saying we are enjoying it and it’s a lot of fun and all that other stuff,” said first-year skipper Scott Servais. “But the thing that’s exciting for me is how our team has come together. They really believe in each other.

“We were up against it and I looked at Robby and said, ‘Somebody’s got to win this game, it might as well …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com