This is the kind of game Mariners need to play more than once every week or two against quality opponents

When the Mariners have faced quality opponents of late, the results have been largely the same. Either Felix Hernandez is pitching and they'll win with his stuffing the opposition all night -- like they did in New York a week ago -- or the game turns into some adventure and usually a loss.

What we haven't seen against teams that aren't on their way downward, like the 49-64 Royals or the 53-60 Blue Jays, are nights like this where the Mariners dominate from start to finish. Forget the final score of 7-4. This game wasn't nearly as close, which explains why the home crowd was getting antsy and taking to some boos in the middle innings