SEATTLE -- The last look the T-Mobile Park crowd got of the Mariners before the All-Star break turned out to be exactly what Seattle fans wanted to see.
For the second straight game, the Mariners rode the razor’s blade with their pitching and came out unscathed in a 1-0 win Sunday, capping a series shutout of the Pirates behind the combined efforts of George Kirby, Carlos Vargas, Gabe Speier and Andrés Muñoz.
It’s the first time in franchise history that the Mariners have posted back-to-back 1-0 wins, and the first time they’ve shut opponents out in three straight games, after beginning the series against Pittsburgh with a 6-0 win Friday. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Seattle’s scoreless streak of 29 innings -- dating back to the eighth inning of their finale against Kansas City on July 3 -- is its longest since Sept. 14-17, 1996.
“Our guys just executed pitches,” manager Dan Wilson said. “That’s what they did, to a man.”
It’s a stretch of dominance that hearkens back to last season in Seattle -- and the identity the Mariners built for themselves on the mound -- when they posted an MLB-best 1.08 team WHIP and an AL-best 3.49 team ERA.
This year, the results have been more mixed, with a 3.90 ERA that ranks 15th in MLB and a 1.27 WHIP that comes in 17th. Much of that has to do with health; a year after needing just six starters all season, Seattle has had as many as three of its starting rotation on the injured list at once in the first half with Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller all missing time, while Matt Brash didn’t debut out of the bullpen until May 3.
But through June, the staff has gotten healthier, with Kirby and Gilbert returning. And as the calendar flipped to July, the results have started to follow, culminating in the dominant weekend against Pittsburgh.
Kirby’s season got off to a delayed start due to shoulder inflammation, and he posted a 6.16 ERA in his first six starts. He’s gotten through the sixth inning in each of his past three, though, allowing just two earned runs.
On Sunday, the right-hander went 6 1/3 scoreless innings with four hits allowed, no walks and nine strikeouts. He did not allow a runner to get past first base.
“George had incredible stuff today,” Wilson said. “I thought his secondaries and the way he was spinning the ball was outstanding, a lot of swing-and-miss.”
Kirby capped a banner showing for the rotation this weekend, with he, Bryan Woo and Luis Castillo combining to throw 19 1/3 scoreless innings with 25 strikeouts and two walks. Even before that, rookie Logan Evans threw 5 2/3 innings of scoreless ball against the Royals.
“I think we’re all hitting our stride a little bit,” Kirby said. “Just have to keep going six, seven, eight innings.”
Vargas got Seattle out of the seventh, stranding the tying run at second base. After Vargas allowed a leadoff single in the eighth, Speier entered and struck out three straight.
Speier has struck out the side in each of his past three, sending nine of the past 10 batters he’s faced back to the bench via the punchout. His 36.4% strikeout rate is third among left-handed relievers.
“His stuff is so good and he throws with such conviction,” Wilson said. “Gets ahead and then puts guys away. As a pitcher, that’s what you need.”
Muñoz, named to the AL All-Star team for the second consecutive season when the reserves were announced in the middle of the game, earned his 21st save of the season with a clean ninth, lowering his AL-best ERA (min. 34 IP) to 1.06.
The quartet -- Kirby, Vargas, Speier and Muñoz -- wrapped up a weekend in which nine different Seattle pitchers combined to allow just 12 hits and four walks in 27 innings, with 36 strikeouts. In this first week of July, the Mariners’ staff has combined for a 1.93 ERA.
And if they can replicate that over the final week of the first half and beyond, Seattle fans will have plenty more good to see.
“It’s just awesome,” Kirby said. “Everybody’s coming in ... and letting it eat.”