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AG: Welcome back to The Wheelhouse. I'm Aaron Goldsmith, and with me once again is Jerry Dipoto. Jerry, welcome back.

JD: Thanks Aaron.

AG: Well, the word of the day is HOT. It was sweltering in Arizona, over a hundred degrees at game time both yesterday and the day before, and I think the only thing hotter was the Mariners themselves. After what had been a kind of difficult August, the M's reel off a five-game winning streak against the Astros and the Diamondbacks, two pretty good teams. Jerry, how you feeling?

JD: (laughs) Pretty, pretty good. You are right, it was hot, and I am glad to be in somewhat less-sweltering San Diego now. It's been great to see the team firing on all cylinders again like we were earlier in the season. I'll tell you, I think this team will be tough to beat in a one-game playoff, let alone a five or seven game playoff. We really saw pretty good outings by all the starting pitchers this week, we saw some really good plate appearances from our hitters, and the bullpen came in and cleaned things up.

AG: There's been a lot in the news in the Statcast era about exit velocity and launch angle. Is that something the Mariners have talked about as an organization much?

JD: It sure has, Aaron. We'd be foolish if we didn't think about that, given the improvements that a lot of hitters have made in the league. "Elevate and celebrate" is the phrase that we use- we even put it on a t-shirt, if you'd like one.

AG: I'm a child's small, please and thank you, Jerry.

JD: (laughs) Mitch Haniger is a guy that's very consciously adopted this strategy. Nelson Cruz has been doing it that way for years. Kevin Pillar has been driving the ball in the air more and is having a career year. It's absolutely something we work on.

AG: Speaking of Nellie, a big milestone for him, getting his 1000th career RBI this week.

JD: Yeah, that was great to see, and a really impressive career tally for a guy who wasn't playing regularly until he was 28 years old. There aren't many guys in the league that have been as productive after age 30 as Nelson Cruz.

AG: We've talked a lot about James Pazos this season. This week, three more wins, in five scoreless innings, striking out six, no walks. His record on the season now 14-4, which is not far off the all-time record for relief wins in a season, which is 18. Is he going to break the record?

JD: I wouldn't bet against him the way he's going! James has been absolutely electric. 110 strikeouts this season in 65 and a third innings. Having him, Edwin Diaz and Juan Nicasio at the back end of the bullpen has really shortened games, and the way that Scott Servais has used them aggressively, if our starter has the lead after five innings, we're almost certainly going to win the game.

AG: Can we get a nickname for James? I guess Big Game James is taken. Something about his mustache?

JD: Caterpillar?

AG: Caterpillar. Jerry, that is perfect. I love it.

JD: Thanks, Aaron.

AG: Let's talk for a bit about a guy that actually didn't play that much this week, but played pretty darn well when he did, Mike Ford. Mike had three hits on Tuesday's win against Houston. His on-base percentage is now .424, in 85 plate appearances. How about what he brings to the table?

JD: We've been able to plug him in about half the time against righties, and the mix of him and Ryon Healy has really been productive. Mike has always gotten on base in the minors, and he's old for a rookie at 26, but he's done exactly what we expected him to do this year, which is to work long counts and hit the pitches that he likes. It's been a great start for him.

AG: Why don't we take a question from the fans here. This one coming from Luis in Snoqualmie. The question for you, Jerry, is how much longer do you expect to see Robinson Cano at second base?

JD: Thanks, Luis. That's a good question. We feel like we're pretty prepared with our depth to move people around if we need to. Robbie's still got enough range to play the position well, and no one turns the double play quite as well as he does. Down the line, I could see us moving Robbie to first base or DH, and shifting Jean Segura to second, but we're a few years away from that point.

AG: Well, as you said, heading to San Diego now, and then to Oakland to close out the week. You've now got a five and a half game lead in the Wild Card standings. You've gotta be feeling pretty good, Jerry.

JD: I do, but I also know better than to look too far ahead. There's a lot of baseball to be played still, and we've got to keep playing the way we've playing all the way through September.

AG: That sounds good to me. The Mariners with a cushion heading into September- what a concept! Well, Jerry, thanks for being here, as always.

JD: Welcome.

JD: And we'll see you next week on The Wheelhouse.