Powerful heart of the order has Mariners contending

CHICAGO — Pop quiz time.

Which team has three of the 25 most productive hitters in Major League Baseball? A: The Chicago Cubs B: The Toronto Blue Jays C: The Boston Red Sox D: The Baltimore Orioles E: None of the above

Obviously, none of the above is the answer. It’s the Seattle Mariners, who were surely on the tip of your tongue.

As under the radar as the Mariners have been for most of this season, nobody has three regulars as consistently productive as Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager. They’re leading the way for a team that needs to be taken seriously as a contender.

Only the Cubs and Royals have played better the past few weeks than the Mariners, who are 15-8 since Aug. 2. They’ve had to patch together their pitching staff at times, but they have always been able to count on Cruz, Cano and Seager.

Those three are all among the top 21 hitters in wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created Plus), which quantifies a player’s total offensive value adjusted for park factors.

David Ortiz, Jose Altuve, Mike Trout, Daniel Murphy and Kris Bryant are currently the top five, with Cruz (145) 12th, Seager (137) 20th and Cano (136) 21st.

What does this mean for the Mariners? You better not write them off in the crowded race for the American League’s two Wild Card spots.

Seattle, 7 1/2 games behind Texas in the AL West, is currently fourth in the AL Wild Card race, only two games behind Baltimore. That’s after a tough three days when the Mariners lost twice at home to the Yankees and had a victory get away from them against the White Sox.

The Mariners’ bullpen couldn’t protect a 6-3 lead to the White Sox, losing 7-6 on Todd Frazier’s liner down the left-field line off Nick Vincent. They have lost some of the momentum …

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