It was Edgar Martinez weekend in Seattle as the Mariners retired No. 11, but the Los Angeles Angels did all the celebrating. They completed a four-game sweep with a 4-2 win Sunday, crushing the hopes of the Mariners right as Seattle had gone into the lead for the second wild card. The Angels climbed three games over .500 for the first time since they started the season 6-2 and climbed into prime position in the topsy-turvy wild-card race.

Here's how the series unfolded, with some guy named Mike Trout playing a big role:

Thursday: The Mariners scored three in the eighth to tie it 3-3, but the Angels scored three of their own in the ninth when Trout cleared the bases with a two-out double off Edwin Diaz.

Friday: The Mariners led 5-1, but the Angels scored four in the seventh when Trout walked to load the bases with two outs, Albert Pujols followed with a two-run single and C.J. Cron and Andrelton Simmons added RBI hits. Trout scored the winning run in the ninth when he walked with one out and scored on Jean Segura's error.

Saturday: The Mariners led 3-1 when the Angels scored twice in the seventh and three times in the eighth. Luis Valbuena hit a game-tying two-run homer, and Pujols' two-run double (Trout walked ahead of him) put the Angels ahead.

Sunday: The Angels scored three in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie. That rally started with ... a Mike Trout walk.

Trout had just three hits in the four games, but the fear of pitching to him played a vital part in all the key rallies. He drew six walks, scored four runs and had the big double in the first game. Walks aren't sexy, but they're one reason Trout is so valuable: He's getting on base and scoring runs, even if he isn't driving them in. He's hitting .341/.468/.690 with 57 runs and 55 RBIs in 74 games.

Still, his excellence alone hardly explains how the Angels are here. After all, they're last in the American League in scoring, with 4.29 runs per game. Their best starter has been JC Ramirez, who is 10-10 with a 4.26 ERA. Their two other regular starters have been Ricky Nolasco and Jesse Chavez, who are a combined 11-22 with ERAs over 5.00 (Chavez is now in the bullpen). The Angels' projected top two starters, Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker, have combined for just 15 starts. The closer has been Bud Norris, who has a 4.60 ERA and has lost the job (Keynan Middleton got the save Sunday, Cam Bedrosian on Friday and Saturday).

Despite those numbers, the Angels are fourth in the American League in runs allowed. Parker Bridwell, a cash purchase from the Baltimore Orioles in April, is now 7-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 11 starts after a win Sunday. Let that sink in: The Orioles didn't want this guy. The Angels' bullpen depth has also been key; they even traded David Hernandez to the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline -- in part because they were 51-55 on July 31 and 5.5 games back of the Royals and didn't look like contenders. Now they are.

As for that second wild card, maybe we need to stop writing about it until the final 10 days or so because it seems unlikely that any of these teams is good enough to pull away. It's really a bunch of mediocrity. Check out the changes in the past week as the Angels passed five teams.

• Sunday: Royals, +0.5 (Angels 3 back)

• Monday: Rays, Royals tied, +1 (Angels 3 back)

• Tuesday: Mariners, Rays, Royals tied, +1.5 (Angels 2 back)

• Wednesday: Mariners, +1 (Angels 2 back)

• Thursday: Mariners, Rays tied, +0.5 (Angels 1 back)

• Friday: Twins, +0.5 (Angels 0.5 back)

• Saturday: Angels, +0.5

• Sunday: Angels, +0.5

Five teams held the second wild card at some point during the week. The Angels now hold a half-game lead over the Twins. The Mariners, in sole possession Wednesday, are now two games behind. Maybe Trout can carry his team into the wild-card game. That would make all this mediocrity worthwhile. (Of course, I'm still rooting for a five-way tie.)

Another day, another Giancarlo Stanton home run. Straight to the highlight, as Stanton hit his 42nd home run and 21st in 33 games. At that pace, he'd hit 103 over 162 games.

Giancarlo Stanton's 250th career homer tied him with Gary Sheffield for most home runs in a season in Marlins history. pic.twitter.com/32VPQg4QUj

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 13, 2017

This is more than just a hot streak. Stanton changed his stance about two months ago, going to more of a closed stance (which was already more closed than it had been in previous years). This has helped him turn better on inside pitches. Check out pitches on the inner third of the zone:

• 2016: .228/.336/.465

• April-June: .214/.313/.464

• July-August: .375/.462/1.000

The feeling from pitchers had always been that you could attack Stanton inside and prevent him from getting his arms extended. That strategy suddenly isn't so simple. If the new stance has indeed created a new level of awesomeness, Stanton is back to being maybe the most feared hitter in the game. Here's Eddie Matz with more on Stanton's recent surge.

Dallas Keuchel finally delivers for the Astros. The Astros have been terrible of late, going 2-9 in August, when they handed the ball to Keuchel, who had made three starts since his return from the disabled list, all with poor results (14 runs and 23 hits in 12 innings). They have to be feeling a little better after Keuchel allowed one run in 6⅔ innings in a 2-1 win over the Rangers.

The Astros also received a bit of a gift in the eighth inning. Chris Devenski walked the first two batters, and A.J. Hinch brought on Ken Giles for a six-out save. For some reason, the Rangers then handed the Astros an out with a sacrifice bunt -- with Joey Gallo on deck, the least likely player in the game to hit a two-run single and just about the likeliest to strike out and not get the runner in from third. Anyway, Gallo did make contact, lining into a 3-6 double play.

Bryce Harper, Nolan Arenado injuries. Obviously, Harper's injury Saturday prompted calls for MLB to address the issue of bases and how to prevent injuries from players slipping on them or sliding into them. It's amazing that Harper didn't rip his knee apart, and while he suffered a significant bone bruise, the Washington Nationals expect him back for the team's playoff push. Dusty Baker references 10 days to two weeks, though you know the Nationals will be as cautious as possible.

Meanwhile, Arenado left Sunday's game after being hit on his left hand, but X-rays were negative. He said he hopes to be back after a couple days. Obviously, both players are leading MVP candidates. If Harper -- probably the current favorite -- misses extended time, that could create a wide-open race among Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Corey Seager and Stanton.

Corey Kluber and Chris Sale are good. Kluber fanned nine batters in seven innings in the Indians' 4-3 win over the Rays, his 14th straight start with eight-plus strikeouts, one short of Randy Johnson's record of 15 in a row. OK, it's kind of a made-up record. Why eight strikeouts and not seven or nine or 10? But you get the point: Kluber is in the midst of a dominant stretch of pitching, with a 1.85 ERA since June 1 and 151 strikeouts in 102⅓ innings.

Meanwhile, Sale fanned 12 and allowed one run in seven innings, earning a no-decision as the Red Sox and Yankees went to extra innings. Sale is 14-4 in 24 starts ... and could be even better. In three of his no-decisions, he allowed zero runs. In his four losses, he allowed one, two, three and four runs. He has just one cheap victory, when he allowed six runs against the White Sox on May 30 but won (plus two wins in which he allowed four runs). Sale leads the Cy Young race because Kluber missed a month, and you can also argue that Sale leads the MVP race. But that's another discussion for another column.