BREAKING NEWS: Seattle Mariners lead surprising sitting in first AL West.

SEATTLE – Given that it took two decades to break a postseason drought just a couple of seasons ago, it’s not surprising that it’s been 21 years since the Seattle Mariners entered June leading the AL West.

Yet, here they are, with a four-game lead in the division as of Monday after winning seven of their last eight games.

Seattle (34-27) has capitalized on a weak division where both Houston and reigning champion Texas have underperformed. Despite their offensive struggles, ranking near the bottom of the league in many categories, the Mariners’ strong pitching has propelled them to the second-best home start in franchise history.

“We’ve pitched very well here. No question about it. Our guys are very comfortable here. We pitch, we play good defense here. It’s a pitcher’s park from what they tell me. So it’s not surprising,” said Seattle manager Scott Servais. “But the key thing on the road is you’ve got to hit better on the road, be more consistent. We have not done so. We have a lot of season left. We need to get better on the road.”

The last time Seattle was in first place in the AL West in June, their current star center fielder Julio Rodríguez was a toddler. The 2003 Mariners won 93 games but still finished three games behind Oakland in the division and two games short of a wild-card spot.

This time, the Mariners’ chances of staying atop the division rely heavily on their elite starting pitchers. The rotation of Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, and George Kirby has been outstanding in the first two months.

Seattle leads the league with 37 quality starts from its pitchers and is tied for second in opponent batting average and sixth in overall staff ERA.

“We’re trying to get better every week. We want to top what we did the week before,” Kirby said. “I always say we do things really well differently, and we have a really good competitive environment. We all want to one-up each other each week, but we’re all trying to get each other better at the same time. I think it’s a good thing to have.”

The big question for Seattle is whether their offense can keep up and not waste the excellent pitching.

On Friday, Seattle fired Brant Brown, the “offensive coordinator” hired in the offseason to boost the bats, which hasn’t worked out. Even after a productive weekend scoring 19 runs in a sweep of the Angels, they still rank near the bottom of the league in most offensive metrics. The Mariners are 28th in runs per game, 28th in batting average, 24th in OPS, and lead the league in strikeouts.

Despite the offensive struggles, the pitching has kept the team competitive, with a 12-4 record in one-run games and 27-3 when scoring more than four runs. Clearly, if the Mariners seek upgrades before the trade deadline, an impact bat will be their target.

“I genuinely enjoy going out every day knowing our starting pitching is going to keep us in the game and give us an opportunity to win every single day. Bullpen, too,” outfielder Luke Raley said. “Just a lot of faith in those guys.”