Brock Huard’s draft preview: Washington DT Vita Vea

Mariners closer Edwin Diaz has made a big jump to start the season, and manager Scott Servais told Brock and Salk who and what is deserving of the credit.

The Mariners will wrap up their four-game series with Houston and seven-game homestand with Marco Gonzales pitching to David Freitas.

Ichiro Suzuki's role with the Mariners has shrunk with left fielder Ben Gamel returning to the team. General manager Jerry Dipoto discussed how the future Hall of Famer fits with the team going forward.

The Astros sent 11 batters to the plate in their biggest-scoring inning of the season off Mariners starter Mike Leake and relievers Nick Vincent and James Pazos.

Sports Illustrated columnist Greg Bishop joined Brock and Salk on 710 ESPN Seattle to talk about what things he believes have factored into the Seahawks' decision to part ways with longtime starters.

Ben Gamel is expected to make his 2018 Mariners debut on Wednesday night after being activated from the 10-day disabled list following his recovery from an oblique strain.

Each day, Brock Huard is profiling a different draft prospect that he considers an early-round possibility for the Seahawks. His draft previews continue with UTEP G Will Hernandez.

Lance McCullers retired 12 straight following Robinson Cano's homer before walking Daniel Vogelbach with two outs in the fifth inning.

As expected, the Mariners have called up left-handed pitcher Ariel Miranda from Triple-A Tacoma to start Tuesday's Game 2 against the Houston Astros.

Edwin Diaz already has a nickame: "Sugar." But the Mariners closer may be called "The Bad Guy" before long. "I want to be the bad guy," he told Bob, Groz and Tom about his mentality on the mound.

Kyle Seager has arguably been the Mariners' best offensive player during their current 5-1 stretch, while "Edwin Diaz is one of the elite closers in the game," MLB.com and MLB Network analyst Jon Morosi said.

For the 139th time in three-plus seasons with the Mariners, Nelson Cruz hit a home run on Monday night. That helped the M's beat the Astros 2-1 and further proved to Bob Stelton that Cruz is the best signing the Mariners have ever made.

"I do have a little bit of grace and a little bit of understanding as to why he's not here," Huard said of Earl Thomas, who finds himself in the midst of trade rumors.

Nelson Cruz hit his first home run since returning from the disabled list and James Paxton threw six innings of one-run ball as the Mariners beat the Astros 2-1 Monday night.

Will Earl Thomas become the next big acquisition for Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones? ESPN.com Cowboys beat reporter Todd Archer discussed with John Clayton.