Bob Nightengale

USA TODAY Sports

HOUSTON - Lloyd McClendon sits on the Seattle Mariners bench, rubs his eyes, blinks, looks again.

He's the manager of this club, and he'll be perfectly honest with you.

"I don't know how we're doing it," he tells USA TODAY Sports. "We're just so offensively challenged. Other teams have a shotgun. We've got a BB gun. So we shoot them between the eyes and try to get the hell out of town before they know what hit them."

Bull's-eye.

The Mariners quietly are the hottest team in the American League after their three-game sweep of the Houston Astros, culminating with a 5-2 victory Wednesday. They are a major league-best 40-25 since April 23, nine games above .500 (47-38) for the first time in seven years.

Not since 2001 have the Mariners made the playoffs, but they're within 41/2 games of the Oakland Athletics in the AL West and in wild-card position.

And while they might have peashooters at the plate, they have bazookas on the mound.

The Mariners posted baseball's greatest run differential (47 runs) in June and have outscored the opposition by 70 runs this season — second to the A's.

And they're doing it with an offense that ranks last in the AL in on-base percentage.

Yes, their pitching is that good.

"We're not asking our offense to do anything crazy," says closer Fernando Rodney, who leads the league with 24 saves. "Just give us three or four runs, and we'll win the game for you."

The Mariners are 35-9 when scoring more than three runs, 41-6 when outhitting opponents.

That's what happens when you have a bullpen that might be the best in the game, yielding a league-low 2.53 ERA; a rotation that's second with a 3.51 ERA; and a defense that's ranked first, going an AL-record 46 consecutive games without allowing an unearned run.

The toughest thing to keep track of with these guys is their zany set of handshakes, reliever Joe Beimel says, ranging from discount double-checks to Fresh Prince of Bel Air handshakes in the bullpen to Rodney's bow-and-arrow gestures.

"I'm traditional," says starter Chris Young, cut by the Washington Nationals in spring training. He's 8-4 with a 3.11 ERA, yielding two hits in seven innings Wednesday. "I'll stick out my hand the old-fashioned way, guys don't know what it is."

"All I know is that these guys are as good as good a group of guys I've ever played with, and Robinson Cano has had a huge influence on everyone in here."

The Mariners were ripped when they shelled out $240million for Cano this offseason, but his .323 batting average and 51 RBI don't begin to illustrate his impact.

"The chemistry is the best it's ever been in here," says Felix Hernandez, the AL pitcher of

the month after going 3-1 with a 1.22 ERA and a career-high 54 strikeouts in June. "Everyone is so happy. Lloyd McClendon and Cano are the biggest reasons."

Says McClendon: "Cano is our electricity source. Each and every one of our guys plug into him on a daily basis. And I think it has rejuvenated him."

Cano refuses to embrace the accolades, but he sure didn't come all the way to Seattle merely to cash paychecks.

"When I signed here," Cano told USA TODAY Sports, "I saw what they had here. I saw the bullpen. I saw the starting pitching. I saw things we had in place.

"I would sound selfish if I said, 'Yes, I'm living up to expectations.' But I will say we are playing up to expectations I had for this team, even though nobody thought we'd be playing this well.

"Please, this isn't about my stats. It's about winning games. We're good now. And we're only going to get better."

Besides, Cano says, with Hernandez on the mound, anything is possible.

Hernandez, who has one Cy Young Award, a perfect game and four All-Star selections on his résumé, just might be pitching the best of his career. Hernandez, 10-2 with a 2.10 ERA, has been throwing a changeup this season scouts insist is the best in the game, while increasing his velocity from a year ago to 93-94 mph.

"I don't know if this is the best I've pitched," he says, "but I will say it's the most fun I've ever had.

"I always thought the day would come when we'd be good, and now it looks like it's finally here."

This time to stay.