Mariners just found a painfully obvious way to fully unleash their offense

It's hard to rip off 10 wins in 10 games without ample help from the bats, so go figure that the Seattle Mariners have averaged 7.8 runs amid their 10-game win streak.

So, why does it feel like it was only in the most recent win that Dan Wilson finally realized the best way to fill out his lineup?

The look he went with wasn't too out of the ordinary for the most part. It was still Randy Arozarena, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Josh Naylor, Jorge Polanco and Eugenio Suárez in the front six slots. That has been standard since July 31, when Suárez came over from Arizona to complete Jerry Dipoto's impressive trade deadline haul.

The one notable difference concerned Dominic Canzone. Him batting seventh was nothing unusual, but he started at designated hitter for the first time all season. And, boy oh boy, did that pay off.

Dominic Canzone's new role underscores the Mariners' embarrassment of offensive riches

Canzone had the game of his life on Tuesday in Kansas City, even if it was lost in the shadow of Raleigh breaking one record held by Mickey Mantle and tying another held by Ken Griffey Jr. The 28-year-old went 5-for-5 with three home runs, which averaged 418 feet in distance.

Now, that's a guy who understands the assignment of a designated hitter. It's also a guy who is suddenly hot to the touch, as that is now seven hits and seven RBI for Canzone just in the last two games.

Canzone had gone into the shadows a bit following the Mariners' active deadline. He hit a solid .275 in 24 games after July 31, but with only one homer. He appeared in just three of the Mariners' seven games on their last home stand, including two as a late-inning sub.

All the same, here's a fun fact about what Canzone has been up since the Mariners recalled him from Triple-A Tacoma on June 9: His 147 wRC+ is the best of any Seattle hitter in this span.

This is simultaneously one of those things to take with a grain of salt and a sign of how well Canzone is swinging the bat in 2025. Prior to his call-up, he had been raking with a .925 OPS and 13 homers in 45 games as a Rainier.

As Canzone has also held his own with a .288 average against lefties, his only real downside as an everyday player is that he's a poor defender in right field. When Polanco was DHing in deference to Cole Young at second base, that was really the only place Wilson could put him.

More recently, though, Young has slumped his way out of a job and Victor Robles has returned from both an injury and a break for a suspension. Polanco has been needed back at second, while right field is really the only viable spot for Robles.

Such things initially turned the DH spot into a revolving door, but Wilson shouldn't need to see more to be convinced that Canzone is his guy — at least on days when Raleigh is behind the plate. And with him in the No. 7 hole with Robles and J.P. Crawford behind him, the Mariners' starting nine has an enviable bottom third: a slugger followed by two pesky on-base types before the lineup turns over.

It's yet another reason for the rest of the American League to fear the Mariners. And from the sound of things, they already do.