Mariners prove strength of lineup in season-best performance  

For someone more accustomed to hitting home runs, Julio Rodriguez was next to go yard. He hit a solo shot for his 13th of the season in the sixth. Rodriguez, who finished 3-for-5, also now has 48 RBI in 94 games on the year.

Then, American League All-Star Randy Arozarena added two more insurance runs in the eighth when he sent a pitch over the fence in left field. Arozarena has 16 homers of his own.

Seattle also scored four more unnecessary runs in the ninth to complete their most productive offensive output of the season. 

The Mariners' 15 runs and 19 hits in Detroit against the team with the best record in baseball were both season highs and sent a clear message across the league - Seattle's lineup has pop well beyond Raleigh.

Seattle heads into Sunday having scored 27 runs in the first two games of their final series of the first half of the season. The Mariners look for the sweep as Raleigh looks to hit at least one more pre-All-Star Game home run. 

As previously mentioned, one more home run for Raleigh on Sunday would be his 39th and tie Barry Bonds' record for the most before the All-Star. 

But of course, the Mariners don't expect Raleigh to hit a home run every day, and his final season total matters much more than where he is in mid-July. 

Raleigh is all but assured to reach 40. He should break the record for the most ever hit by a catcher (48). Ken Griffey Jr. holds the Mariners' single-season record — he hit 56 in back-to-back seasons in 1997-98. And then beyond Jr. are legendary names like Babe Ruth, before getting to the more controversial figures in Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and then Barry Bonds' 73.