SEATTLE -- Josh Rojas shared a clubhouse with many of those in the visiting dugout on Friday night at T-Mobile Park, but for Mitch Haniger, it¡¯s been ages since he donned a D-backs uniform. Those two pounded their former team with towering home runs that lifted the Mariners to a 6-1 win over Arizona as Seattle opened a big homestand against the reigning National League champions.

Rojas crushed a 405-foot solo blast off All-Star Zac Gallen on the first pitch in the bottom of the first inning, then Haniger blasted a 389-foot grand slam in the sixth off reliever Scott McGough, shortly after Gallen left with right hamstring tightness. Mitch Garver also hit a sky-high solo blast in the second inning to snap an 0-for-16 skid.

The sluggers¡¯ efforts, coupled with Emerson Hancock¡¯s third straight quality start, continued the Mariners¡¯ momentum on the heels of a big series win at Texas, giving Seattle an early litmus test by facing each of last year¡¯s World Series teams in succession.

The Mariners, who were off to a tough, 6-10 start to the season, advanced to a season-high two games above .500 (14-12) and held onto first place in the American League West.

¡°The start of the year wasn't what we wanted, and there's a lot to be said on what can be different and all these things,¡± Haniger said. ¡°And a lot of times you just have to keep coming to work, working hard and not giving in to all the BS and just keep trying to get better.¡±

Moreover, the Mariners continued to exhibit the type of roster-wide potential that the front office banked on when assembling this group, one built on stringent starting pitching and enough offense to hand the baton to a lights-out bullpen.

The Mariners are now 11-5 when hitting a home run, 13-2 when they receive a quality start and 13-0 when leading after the sixth inning. They can win their fourth straight series on Saturday after going winless in their first five.

¡°That's how we're built,¡± Mariners manager Scott Servais said. ¡°We know that. We're at our best when we're pitching like that and getting timely hits.¡±

Uncharacteristic pitching hiccups contributed to Seattle¡¯s slow start, but the biggest factor in the club¡¯s turnaround has been offense, and particularly via power. The Mariners had a .328 slugging percentage through April 14, fourth-worst in the Majors, when they were a season-low four games under .500. Since then, that number is .440, fifth best.

¡°We haven't even scratched the surface yet of I think how good we can be offensively,¡± Servais said.

Haniger had been in a funk on Seattle¡¯s road trip through Colorado and Arlington, going 2-for-21 with 10 strikeouts. Garver has been in one all year, now hitting .143 with a .536 OPS. Yet the Mariners have mostly been able to withstand those struggles thanks to contributions elsewhere, especially Rojas, who¡¯s been the club¡¯s most pleasant surprise and consistent hitter, with a team-best .316 batting average and .391 on-base percentage.

As such, Rojas, who was acquired in the Paul Sewald trade at last year¡¯s Trade Deadline, will also see more time at leadoff, especially against righties, after J.P. Crawford was placed on the injured list on Thursday with a right oblique strain. For a coincidental effect, Rojas threw out the player he replaced -- third baseman Eugenio Su¨¢rez -- for Friday¡¯s 27th out.

¡°Gallen is a guy who I've talked pitching strategy a lot with,¡± Rojas said. ¡°... So it was kind of a cool experience for me to be on the other side and think, 'All right, I've picked his brain, so let's see what he's going to try to do to me.¡¯¡±

This lineup also goes as Julio Rodr¨ªguez does, and the Mariners¡¯ best player has also turned a corner, with singles of 107.7 mph and 102.7 mph on Friday, marking his seventh multi-hit effort in his past nine games. Rodr¨ªguez crushed his first homer of the year on Wednesday, a massive, 435-foot, 110.5 mph shot that¡¯s been part of an overall hard-hit uptick. Seattle is 14-5 when he gets a hit and 0-7 when he¡¯s 0-fer.

But Hancock and the bullpen all deserve merit, with just three hits and four walks combined, the lone run via a homer against Hancock on a sinker low and way inside. Take away an eight-run outing in Milwaukee on April 7, and Hancock has a 2.70 ERA in his other four starts.